Loyal
by An Anonymous Guest
Summary: When you're stuck in the cave with a madman and a plant man as your only form of human contact, things can be a tad bit stressful. But Kakashi is someone precious to Obito - even if he killed Rin - and Obito will be damned if he let anything else happen to his precious people.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Naruto

Um.. first story so cheers?

* * *

Obito is not the smartest or the strongest, not genius like Kakashi or book-smart like Rin. He's just Obito. Too emotional, too stubborn and too reckless to be a good shinobi, much less Hokage.

But he's also passionate, earnest and _loyal._

So when Kakashi comes back (" _he came back,"_ Obito thinks disbelieving) to save Rin despite what happened to his father. When Kakashi comes back, _throwing away the rules,_ to help him save Rin. Obito knows that Kakashi has become someone he'd die for.

It's for that reason when he sees that rock hit Kakashi in his blind spot, he does not hesitate. He _recklessly_ pushes the bastard aside. It's for that reason when he finds himself in a cave, half his body replaced, he _stubbornly_ trains. It's the reason that when he finds himself cradling Rin ("Rin's _corpse_ ," a traitorous voice whispers) in a field littered with the fallen bodies of Kiri-nin, he in his grief, his agonised mourning, in his fit of _emotion_ forgets Kakashi. He _forgets_ Kakashi.

He. Forgot. Kakashi.

"KAKASHI!" he starts, ignoring Madara's ramblings.

Kakashi, his arrogant, callous, silver-haired bastard of a teammate. Kakashi, his talented, genius teammate, who was _unconscious in enemy territory._

What do dreams matter when Kakashi is lying prone in a battlefield? When he's vulnerable and alone because _Obito forgot_? Dreams can wait. Kakashi needs him now and Obito won't be late. Not this time.

So Obito runs, faster than ever, his chakra pumping through his coils. Well, he tries to run but the sentient armour refuses to move.

"Zetsu, what are you doing? Kakashi's in trouble, we have to go back!"

Why isn't Zetsu letting him move? Doesn't he understand? Kakashi is in danger. They have to go back.

"It seems as if you've miscalculated Madara," Zetsu says, **"the boy isn't broken yet."**

Obito struggles again the plant armour, their words are a stream of nonsense because he can't focus on anything but Kakashi. He later regrets not listening, because if he did maybe, just maybe he would have struggled harder, fought harder… did _something better._

Instead, he feels a sharp pain at the back of his head and blacks out.

* * *

It's warm. He can feel the gentle summer breeze rustling through the grass, blowing gently at his hair. The rays of sunlight warm his face and he feels content. Comfortable. Like he's soaking in a warm tub of water, his body limp as a noodle.

" _Obito,"_ he shifts more focused on relaxing.

"Obito."

Reluctantly, he cracks open an eye. ( _"Oh, it's Rin,"_ he thinks, " _How nice."_ ) Before falling back to sleep.

"Rin!" he bolts up.

"Finally awake, sleepyhead?" she teases gently.

Obito stares in shock, Rin, she's there… with her beautiful smile and kind words. She looks happy, safe… _alive._ Immediately, Obito frowns. Why wouldn't Rin be alive? Obito tries to think but the warm, fuzzy feeling washes over him again. He's comfortable.

"Obito?" Rin asks and Obito can't stop a goofy grin from creeping onto his face, she has always been so considerate.

"Maa, maybe you should give him a kiss to help wake him up," he feels his face burn up and Rin looks absolutely scandalised. "Kakashi!" she splutters at the silver-haired jounin and Obito has to fight a strange feeling.

"SHUT UP, BAKASHI!" he cries, red-faced, at the snickering genius. There's that feeling again.

"Now, now kids," Minato-sensei calls from across the clearing, "less teasing, more training."

Minato-sensei leads them to the lake and Obito has to force himself to look from his reflection. There's something _wrong_ but he doesn't know what. The same spiky short black hair, the same aristocratic features common to all Uchiha. Sure, he's slightly more built than the average Uchiha, but it's still him. Noticing how the two tomoe in his Sharingan spin lazily, he frowns.

"Hey, when did I get the Sharingan?"

"Kannabi Bridge, we were fighting two Iwa-nin remember?"

Obito remembers. They were in a bamboo forest and one of the jounin had a camouflaging jutsu. He managed to activate his Sharingan before the shinobi could take Rin. Obito stops. Wait, no… he didn't. The jounin did get Rin… and then… and then. Another wave of contentment fills his body and he relaxes. What was he thinking about again? Obito ponders. Hm... it must have not been important.

"Maa, why are you staring blankly like that? Scared you'll lose?"

Obito yells indignantly, "Like hell I'll lose to you!" before charging at Bakashi.

They fight and it's like a dance. Dodge, deflect… look for an opening and jab. They're evenly matched. Obito with his Sharingan and Kakashi with… with… what on earth is that? The sound of a thousand chirping birds fill the air… and Obito slams up a wall, "DOTON: DORYUHEKI!" Before dashing away. Kakashi slices through the wall like it's nothing but soft butter.

"What the hell is that?" he yells because he's heard that before. ( _"RIN!"_ his very soul screams.)

"Maa, like it? I just finished it. Chidori."

"That's amazing, Kakashi!" Minato-sensei enthuses stopping the match. Rin also steps up to congratulate the genius, "You finally finished it!"

Obito stands still. There's something wrong, something really really wrong. "Good job, Kakashi" he finds himself robotically saying. Hopefully, in the midst of Kakashi's accomplishment no one will find his less than enthusiastic tone odd. Minato-sensei calls it a day, determined on making it to Ichiraku's so he can hound Kakashi on the inner workings of the new jutsu and Obito follows them troubled.

Rin… there is something wrong with Rin. Is something wrong with Rin? He scrutinises Rin. Taking no note of the faint blush her face takes on when she notices his stare, Obito catalogues her. There's nothing wrong with her… she's completely normal… and _happy._ In fact, everyone here has been happy… really really happy. _Suspiciously_ happy.

Isn't there a war going on? Why is everyone so smiley? Not that he has anything against being happy. He loves being happy but where is the weary glint in Minato-sensei's eyes? The slight solemn air Rin takes on when she drifts to thoughts of dying patients? Why is Kakashi so… relaxed? In fact, he hasn't mentioned his damned rules once today. (" _Those who abandon the rules are trash, but those who…_ But those who what?")

Normally, after a training session Kakashi would try to opt out on group lunch for solitary training but he's here, not training. And since when did Kakashi joke? Obito is confused. Kakashi is also a genius, so when did they start fighting on par? Worry bubbles in him, overpowering that warm, _odd_ , feeling of contentment. There has been something very strange about today. He digs into his ramen before moaning at the utter deliciousness of the dish. He hasn't eaten in months, not since he was stuck in that cave. Obito stills. Cave? What cave?

Worry mounts. "Rin-chan? When did I get my Sharingan again?"

"Kannabi Bridge," he disregards her questioning look.

Kannabi Bridge… Kannabi Bridge… ( _"Sakumo,"_ a voice whispers.) Wait, who's Sakumo?

"My dad," Kakashi answers, meaning that Obito must have spoken aloud, "He's my hero, he sacrificed the mission for the sake of his comrades. Where did you hear about him?"

Worry becomes panic because, because that is not something his Kakashi would admit. That is not his Kakashi, his Kakashi is a bastard who followed the rules religiously to the point he literally had to beat it out of him. (" _Those that break the rules and regulations are scum. But those who abandon their comrades are even worse than scum. If I'm going to be called scum either way, I'd rather break the rules! And if that's not being a proper shinobi, then I'll destroy that idea!"_ ) His Kakashi almost left them because of his stupid rules. (" _Rule #04 A shinobi must always put the mission first."_ )

This is not his Kakashi. The world starts to fracture. These people are not his team. The cracks deepen. This is not his Konoha which that means that… this world is a _**lie.**_ The world shatters breaking the illusion.

* * *

He is in a cave. One hand is pale but peachy, the other is chalk white. He can feel his body ache still somewhat unused to the foreign Senju cells. Which means… that it was not a nightmare. He's broken and battered. Rin is gone ( _dead_ ) and Kakashi… oh kami, Kakashi! He forgot Kakashi.

He struggles to get up because he has to get to Kakashi. He has to go back because Kakashi needs him. Kakashi needs him because they are comrades, friends, a team. And Obito will be damned if he becomes a hypocrite. ("Obito-kun," his Baa-chan croons, "There are two people who I hate most in this world; traitors and hypocrites.")

It doesn't matter that Kakashi killed Rin because Obito is loyal, he is stubborn, he is passionate, he is reckless, he is emotional, he is earnest. When Obito said Kakashi would make a great jounin, he meant it because Kakashi came back and that doesn't just mean that Obito would die for Kakashi. It means that Obito _will_ live for Kakashi.

Because sometimes, just sometimes, on lonely cold nights. Obito wishes that his parents had lived for him. ("Obito-kun, your parents were great shinobi who died for Konoha. Who died for you.")

It does not matter that Kakashi killed Rin ( _"She's dead, she's dead, dead, dead, dead,"_ he screams) because Obito stubbornly refuses that fact.

Because he doesn't understand, Kakashi _came back_. Why would he kill Rin? _Why?_

Obito tries not to ponder on it because if he does ( _angerpainragedespairWhyRinWHYRIN?),_ he just tries not to. The only thing that matters is that he forgot Kakashi which means he has to go back.

And the only thing stopping him is Uchiha Madara.

So he listens, (" _This world is full of things that don't go as you wish… The longer you live the more you realise reality is just made of pain, suffering and emptiness"_ ) he trains, (" _you must learn to 'Look underneath the underneath'"_ ) and he dreams… ("Obito, you sleepyhead" Don't forget. It's a lie. They're all lies, lies, lies.)

And he fools himself into thinking he has tricked one of the most feared shinobi in all of history. He has always been good at lying to himself.

He knows this because inflicting pain on himself, flaring his chakra, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan. Just. Does. Not. Work. It's terrifying just how talented this cripple of a man is. To be able to fool the _Mangekyo_ Sharingan. Even if Obito's ability is not linked with genjutsu.

Still he plays the obedient disciple despite both shinobi knowing it's just an act because there's only so long you can act before it stops being an act. If he can just fool Madara into thinking he stopped acting before he actually does. If he can just keep going. ("Remember Kakashi," he chants to himself, "he came back, so you have to come back too. Remember Kakashi.")

So Madara ups his game, he teaches Obito more of what he knows. He becomes the sensei Obito always wished Minato-sensei was. ("Why didn't you see me? Just because I'm not genius like Kakashi or smart like Rin. Just because I'm not as talented as my clansmen. Why wasn't I good enough for you?")

Zetsu becomes someone Obito calls friend. The only form of non-creepy, as in less creepy than the Honoured Ancestor over there, human (plant) contact for what seems like months, years, decades… ("Oh Kami, How long have I been stuck here?" Obito thinks hysterically.)

The genjutsu become more elaborate, varied, _plausible._ Obito escapes and a group of Konoha shinobi find him. Obito wakes up from a nightmare. Obito was in a coma due to a fear-based genjutsu.

However, the thing Obito realises is that… each genjutsu is based on his happiness. Each genjutsu leads to a perfect world where he can be utterly, completely, undeniably happy and how can he be happy, how can he be truly and utterly happy without grief or misery or sadness altogether if Rin isn't alive?

The answer is that he can't. He will never be happy if Rin is dead, maybe he could be content but never happy. So every genjutsu has a Rin, and every Rin helps him realise that his Rin is dead. ("Isn't it sad?" he smiles bitterly, "Isn't it so sad and twisted and just fucked up? That I'm glad Kakashi killed Rin?" His inner Baa-chan scolds him for the expletive.)

So when the genjutsu gets so strong that he starts having to use the Mangekyo every time he's trapped in it, Obito does something horrible. Something absolutely, inexcusably wretched.

He kills Rin.

The world shatters and he feels his heart, the heart he thought died with her, shatter with it and he stares at his milky white ( _redredbloodred_ ) hand in shock. He killed Rin. ("It's not my fault," he screams alone in the cave, "It's not my fault!") It wasn't his Rin but it was still _Rin._

The next ten, hundred, thousand times he kills Rin, ("It's just a genjutsu, Rin's dead, this isn't Rin. It is not Rin." "Obito, what are you doing? Obito, stop. This isn't funny. Stop, Obito, STOP!") his heart somehow crawls back from the grave each and every time just to die all over again and again and again. But he can't stop because while Rin may be dead, Kakashi isn't so he has to stay alive, stay lucid, stay _sane_ so he can go back.

 _Maa, I'm not sure that talking to voices in your head is something people would consider sane._

Shut up Bakashi, if you haven't got something useful to say then don't say anything.

Madara is very good at what he preaches (" _To manipulate others you must be able to manipulate and feed the darkness in them, if there is no darkness in them put darkness in them"_ ) and even if it's twisted and messed up, it makes sense. Plus it gives Obito a look into how the creeper thinks.

 _If you know how an enemy thinks you will be able to predict how he moves._

I don't understand.

 _Obito you moron, "manipulate and feed the darkness in them" and "if there is no darkness... put darkness in them."_

Yeah… and?

 _Don't you think it was odd how Zetsu coincidently called you and that you reached the graveyard at the moment I kille-... Rin died? And even if we have no idea where we were don't you think that it was suspicious how many Kiri ANBU there were? Rin and I would never be sent to the frontlines just based on how old we were and if we were sent, it would not have been a border with Kiri._

Obito's blood runs cold. What are you implying, Kakashi?

…

Obito forces his face not to change, forces himself to keep calm, to keep relaxed as if he doesn't want to kill Madara, as if he's some naive, little kid that Madara can just play around with.

Obito smiles, he's very good at smiling, because if he doesn't smile someone will die and for all his bravado (" _I'm going to be Hokage!"_ ) he knows that he has no chance against Madara and Zetsu. So he'll keep smiling at Rin's murderer as if the epiphany he has just had is about the cruelties of the world, because, to be honest, it really is. This world must be a cruel, miserable, dark place if he's forced to make nice with the man ( _monster_ ) who killed Rin.

He. Killed. RIN.

He's angry, furious. He's just so upset that he can't think, can't speak. He just wants to hurt something, to scream, to yell, to do _anything._ But he can't. He can't because if he does, it'd be for nothing. Madara would win and he'd lose Kakashi. So he won't do anything because while he is emotional and reckless, he's also stubborn and loyal. So he'll stubbornly resist the anger, the rage, the _darkness_ Madara has put in him because he's loyal to Konoha, loyal to his team, loyal to _Kakashi._

And if he decides to take to strength training with more vigour, smashing rocks into smithereens, then it's just because he needs to be in good shape if he's going to create a perfect world.

* * *

He's alone and he revels in it. Sure, Zetsu is probably hiding somewhere close by but to all his senses he's alone and it feels a little bit like freedom.

Madara likes to use a variety of emotional techniques. He sympathises with Obito, gives Obito attention and treats Obito like he's worth something. He isolates Obito for minutes, hours, days on end with only darkness as his company so that when Obito is moved back to Madara's cave, he's starved for human contact. Desperate for human contact. He gives Obito nice ( _perfect_ ) dreams and is there to comfort Obito after nightmares ( _dead, dead, dead, everyone is dea_ d). Madara tells stories, weaves tales of the grandeur of this perfect world, the happiness this perfect world will bring. Madara makes it so for that for Obito, Madara ( _and Zetsu_ ) is Obito's world.

And it would work, would have worked if Obito did not give Kakashi his eye.

At first, Obito thought it was a new version of the genjutsu. It was unnaturally vivid much like all the first few genjutsu Madara had cast, back before Madara realised Obito would not have his Sharingan on twenty four-seven in day-to-day life, but it's soundless. He sees himself running through the forest (Training Ground 44) with a masked partner being pursued by ANBU.

Everyone stops and an ANBU appears out from the shadows.

Obito is pretty sure that he/she's saying something but the mask covers his/her mouth and even it didn't, Obito cannot lipread. The androgynous ANBU commands attention and the some of the recruits (he thinks this is an ANBU entrance test) visibly groan. He can actually see them groan, since… he can't hear anything.

He sees himself following an ANBU to the hidden barracks. How curious, this genjutsu isn't like the others, people don't interact with him. It is more like looking through a glass screen.

The genjutsu breaks leaving Obito confused and wary.

The same genjutsu is applied several times later, each showing snippets of the ANBU recruit's experiences. The genjutsu aren't happy ( _perfect_ ) or sad or even normal. Just monotonous. Hours upon hours of training or just running. He learns quite a few cool chakra tricks and training exercises but sometimes it's like they are just randomly running around hoping that it would somehow make them cooler. Things would make a lot more sense with sound.

Boring as they are, Obito hangs onto these visions because they're not perfect. They have nothing to do with Madara, nor some whacked up scheme to resurrect the moon or something. But as much as Obito clings onto these visions, Obito takes the reprieves with a pinch of salt. Madara is one tricky bastard and it would not surprise Obito if this was all just the beginning of some really messed up torture method.

It isn't until the twelfth or thirteenth vision he knows what these illusions, these strange soundless genjutsu are. Because when he ( _they_ ) look into the mirror it is not some twisted older version of Obito in the reflection. It's Kakashi.

Kakashi. ( _I'll become your eye… and see the future with you.")_ He's taller than Obito remembers, one eye steel grey and the other… the other. Three tomoe lazily swirl around. A fully evolved Sharingan. Obito thinks in awe. He did it.

Pride swells up inside Obito. There were elders who did not have Sharingan as matured as Kakashi's but then again Bakashi was a genius, so of course, not being an Uchiha would not stop him.

Following pride is relief because Kakashi was alive. Kakashi. IS. Alive. Madara did not get to him. If the ancient Uchiha knew how strong Obito's attachment the bastard was, Obito does not doubt that Kakashi's death would have been arranged as well and Obito. Will. Not. Let. That. Happen.

So Obito revels in these times alone, lives for them. Because Madara always leaves him for a long enough time that once, at least once, Kakashi will uncover Obito's eye letting Obito see a world, remember a world outside these cavern walls. ("Just wait a little longer, Kakashi, I'm coming home.") It keeps him sane.

He's alone and he focuses. Kakashi is fighting an enemy-nin. Kakashi is injured and fighting an enemy-nin. Kakashi is injured and fighting a high jounin level enemy-nin. Kakashi is, Kakashi is… it goes black. Dread pools in Obito's stomach. Maybe he's just resting his eye. Maybe he doesn't need the Sharingan right now.

Kakashi is strong. Kakashi is capable. He would not let some loser nin beat ( _kill_ ) him and Obito believes that because Obito hasn't been able to see anything since then. Obito has to believe that because if he doesn't, if Kakashi is dead. Everything has been for nothing.

* * *

It has been five perfect world genjutsu and one isolation period since Obito has seen anything. It makes him angsty and off-game and Obito can't be off-game because he's stuck in a cave with one of the most formidable shinobi in history and a plant-man with frightening information gathering abilities and he cannot get out.

Obito freezes. Maybe he can. Maybe he can get out. Madara has taught him numerous high level katon ninjutsu, his taijutsu is good, really good (he can tell from comparing to the visions) and by now if Obito is not the master of dispelling genjutsu, then no one is. His tactical skills have skyrocketed as well as his analytical skills.

(He can now tell the androgynous ANBU is a woman aged 24 whose birthday is most likely on the 2nd of April, that or someone close to her was born on that date. She favours taijutsu over ninjutsu and has no talent for genjutsu due to a minor injury in a minor chakra coil, possibly due to the combination of a Hyuuga who missed, lack of training, and the use of chakra absorbant weapon, most likely a tanto, whilst suffering chakra exhaustion. She's good at aerial attacks and is in ANBU more for her tactical and stealth skills more than her frontline skills, which is fair because ANBU are assassins not warriors.)

Obito can escape, his easy mastery of the Kamui is evidence of that and he knows outside the cave are trees. While chakra intensive and hard to control, he is proficient with Mokuton. The question is can he stay escaped?

Obito may not be smart, not the way his peers seem to be but he isn't stupid. So Obito knows that Madara must have some kind of back up plan for this but no matter how much Madara has hammered in tactics and shadowy chessmaster maneuvering into Obito. Obito has always been better at doing things on the fly so he keeps the plan simple.

Wait for the perfect world rant. Kill Madara. If you can't kill Madara burn off his hands. Kamui the hell out and run. If Zetsu appears, katon Zetsu and run faster.

If push comes to shove he has a secret technique, whether he can actually use it is completely theoretical, but it could work.

The plan works for the most part. Until he feels his body seize with pain. He's only a metre outside of the cave and he can feel his chakra lock but that's okay. He doesn't need chakra for this, not really. Obito forces the milky white Senju cells to cover the other side of his body as he melds into the tree becoming virtually undetectable.

Well, theoretically. The Kagero technique, if Zetsu was being truthful, makes Obito impossible to sense and hopefully the fact that the Senju cells belong to Obito and thus, are not technically a clone of Zetsu will ensure even Zetsu cannot find him.

Obito smiles in triumph. Then the pain worsens. He has to bite back a scream, biting clean through his lip. Tears bead at the corner of his eye and if he wasn't in pain, he'd be wondering how it was possible to cry whilst being inside a tree but he is. There's nothing but white noise and he can't concentrate on anything except it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

The pain stops and all Obito can do is shudder, breathing in huge shuddering breaths as he sluggishly forces the chakra in his coils to circulate through his body. The pain eases slightly and after a few minutes he relaxes.

 _You have at most another ten minutes before he activates that seal again._

The worst of the tremors have stopped and he gives his assent. By now Zetsu will have already searched a four kilometre radius. If he hasn't left any clones, Madara will be alone. So he slowly withdraws from the tree and Kamui's back into the cave. Carefully weaving an area effect genjutsu Obito flies through the seals overpowering the technique with chakra.

"Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu," Obito launches the projectile watching emotionlessly as the wooden spikes multiply in Madara's body. "It's fitting that you die by Mokuton," he says.

There's no satisfaction, nothing is set to rest. He still feels anger, rage, pain. He has always been too emotional and that's probably why he doesn't notice that Madara is still alive. Doesn't realise that he has left a dying, but still alive enemy with functioning hands as he starts to Kamui out.

 _Obito, you moron! Turn back! He can still do hand se-_

White hot pain runs through his body and he blacks out.

* * *

His head throbs and he feels like he's been crushed under a tonne of rocks… again. The sun is such an asshole that he thinks it takes lessons from Bakashi. It's harsh and unyielding and he knows that if he doesn't get up soon his face will burn a lobster red. So he stumbles up... only to fall again. Why is the world spinning?

Is this some kind of conspiracy? Did Bakashi make Hokage and declare it Ruin Obito's Life Day?

The birds are chirping obnoxiously, his head is pounding and his entire body aches. He can feel the beginning of chakra exhaustion chills and the blades of grass are itching his body. The wildflowers not only stink but their pollen is making his nose run.

He hates the world. It is obviously being a bastard. This world sucks. It literally (" _metaphorically,"_ Bakashi corrects, the Grammar Nazi*) sucks, this is a horrible world.

...This is a horrible world. Obito pauses.

 _This_ is a horrible world. This is a horrible _world._ This is a _horrible_ world. _This. Horrible. World._

Obito whoops, jumping up ecstatically... before collapsing again due to vertigo. Stupid vertigo.

After several moments, Obito slowly gets up, fistpumps, then does an entirely embarassing, highly undignified, entirely unUchiha-like dance.

Because this world sucks and Obito is free.

In the middle of nowhere, chakra exhausted, bone weary with not even the shirt on his back.

With no idea how he got here, no idea how he going to get to Konoha, no idea where Konoha even is.

This world really does suck.

But at least he's got his pants.

* * *

Somewhere in a cave, Uchiha Madara's apprentice dons a freshly painted and dried, garishly orange swirled mask and sets off the Ame to begin the Tsuki no Me Keikaku.

* * *

*Grammar Nazi: I know there have been no Nazi's in the Elemental Continent but seriously is there a better word for it? Okay, it's not grammar but terminology... however, the thought applies.

Please review... don't be afraid to give NICE constructive criticism. I need help with characterisation and stuff.

Also, whereabouts is the cave where Obito is stuck in?

~Anon


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Naruto.

Merry Christmas. Just so you know, this chapter gave me a hard time.

* * *

Freedom is nothing like what he expects. The initial feeling of ecstasy has worn off, his nerves are shot and he's jumpy. He's surrounded by nature and life and yet all he feels is a thick shroud of death. The forest is oppressive in a way Fugaku-sama will never be able to match.

Not to mention the place actually looks like something out of a horror movie with all the giant bones laying around everywhere and the feeling of a thousand eyes watching him. Which considering he's being hunted down by a one man army is entirely plausible.

But it isn't the eerie quality or silence that the place holds that freaks Obito out. In fact, the creep factor is one of the only things keeping him sane.

No, Obito is freaking out on just how smoothly this is going.

Zetsu can clone himself a million times over and become a tree. Despite it being a crucial factor in Obito's escape, Obito can't help but wish the Kagero technique was never invented mainly because Obito is stuck in a forest. A forest made of trees. Being hunted by a guy who can become a tree. A guy who can become many trees.

Why isn't Obito being marched up into a cave again?

 _Focus on the mission at hand._

Obito breathes in deeply and focuses. Because while Zetsu may be a formidable spy and a dangerous foe, he doesn't specialise in tracking and despite the fact most of his skills were learnt in a cave, Obito can certainly say he specialises in stealth. If Obito is careful, extremely, exponentially, oh-so-very careful, maybe, just maybe Obito can escape. The odds are against him but Obito has never cared for probability.

He lets his chakra harmonise with the surroundings becoming something like a drop of sake in a barrel of water. He climbs up to the canopy, flying over the broad leaves. Leaf walking is basically a chakra trick just like roof hopping and tree climbing. It's one part chakra control, one part agility and two parts timing and probably difficult for Sharingan-less plebeians but ridiculously easy to pick up through Kakashi's Sharingan. Obito doesn't know why such an inane technique is a requirement for ANBU (tree jumping is far easier, more versatile and in general superior and Kakashi's instructor verbalised the reasons for it) but if he evers meets the weirdo who made it a requirement Obito swears he'll fall on hands and knees for the guy, girl, person.

Either way, if Obito was made to stay in the forest any longer he would have exposed himself via panic attack.

So Obito ghosts over the dense canopy squinting his eyes because has the sun always been this bright? Damn, sun. Why is it being so bright? Can't it see Obito's making his super stealthy, ultra sneaky getaway?

Obito ignores the voice in his head calling him a moron as his shunshins forward. Stupid Bakashi wouldn't know awesome even if it pushed him out the way of a rockslide.

* * *

It takes Obito several missteps, three ' _holy crap I almost died'_ falls and a couple of momentary blackouts, where the next time he wakes up he's several hundred metres ahead of his previous place before Obito decides he possibly may need a break.

 _You're exhausted, idiot. Mind and body. Your chakra reserves are that of a half-dead squirrel and you keep flipping from paranoia to manic energy to just blacking out altogether. A good shinobi knows his limits. If you keep going, you'll die falling off a tree. A Konoha shinobi, dying from falling off a tree. You will never_ _ **never**_ _live it down._

Sadly, Bakashi has a point. It's been four hours since he woke judging from the setting sun (though, it may have been anything from twenty minutes to six hours seeing as Obito _can't tell the time via the sun-_ it's not really a skill that can be taught inside a cave) and there hasn't been any sign of hide and hair from him so Obito's pretty sure Zetsu is not looking.

Obito knows that 'pretty sure' holds basically no weight in this situation but it is not like Obito can do anything about it.

So Obito balances cross-legged upon the canopy, a feat requiring three parts chakra control, one part balance and way more focus that Obito cares to admit. His entire body aches and his mind is worn from constant analysis and paranoia.

He's tired, really really tired. It seems as if the forest has no end and all he wants to do is sleep.

But he can't.

His chakra levels are so low that he can't trust himself not to fall into a mini-coma. Instead, he contents himself in enjoying the scenery.

The fading air is stained red and it's reassuring in a way he doesn't think he's ever been reassured before. He's never really seen the beauty of sunsets or sunrises before, but he can't help the feeling of ( _notcomfortnotcontent)_ peace he feels as he watches the dying sun.

It's nice to know that things can come to an end.

* * *

"Obito please. Please please don't do this. Why are you doing this?" She whimpers out as he stalks forward, "We can talk this out, Obito. J-just don't do this, please. You don't have to do this, Obito."

She's wrong. He has to do this, there's no other way.

"Please, Obito. Please please please," she begs, tears running down her face.

His heart aches. It's hard enough already. Why does she have to make it harder? He unsheathes a tanto and his eyes harden. No matter how much she begs, he will not relent. This has to be done.

Not-Rin sees his resolve and her face reddens with rage.

"FUCK YOU, YOU ASSHOLE! WHY ME?" She roars, "WHY ME?" Her voice cracks, "Why me? I don't want to die. Damn it. I DON'T WANT TO DIE. Stay, STAY AWAY FROM ME!" She is in no way gracious about her impending death. She rages and rants, begs and cries.

There's nothing beautiful or elegant to her. Not with her ugly, snotty tears. Her tomato red face. And yet, she's the most tragically beautiful thing in his world.

Shlick. It's quick. Efficient.

The body collapses. Obito feels his heart collapse with it. Ignoring the pain he waits for the world to shatter. One. Two. Three… Twelve. Thirteen… Fifty six. Fifty seven… One hundred… Two thousand five hundred and thirty eight… The world isn't shattering. It… just isn't shattering. Why isn't it shattering?

"Idiot, what are you doing here?" Ka-Kakashi? "You're late, aga- Is that Rin?"

Obito stares. It's Kakashi. His hitai-ate slanted to cover up an eye. Obito's eye.

"Rin. Rin? Rin! Wake up!" A chill runs down Obito's spine. "Damn it, Obito. Call a iryo-nin! Rin!"

Obito's Mangekyo bleeds into sight and the image doesn't change. Not-Kakashi is still there, still crouched over the bloody body. "Stop Kakashi. She's dead."

"W-why? What happened Obito?" Is Not-Kakashi is crying? How queer. "Damn it, Obito! What happened?"

"I killed her." It's strange how Obito's voice doesn't so much tremor.

"What?"

"I killed Rin," his voice comes out calm. Cold. Clinical. As if he's commenting on the unfortunate death of a test subject and not- and not _Rin._ Dread pools in his gut.

Because. Obito stares into the mismatched steel-grey and blood-red eyes. Because that is the Sharingan. None of the genjutsu before had ever shown Obito a Kakashi with a Sharingan. And this Kakashi has the Sharingan. The Mangekyo doesn't lie. Obito closes his eyes because he knows what this means.

The corpse isn't just a corpse. Not-Rin is not Not-Rin. This is real. Rin is real and Rin is _dead._ Because Obito killed her. Rin is _dead_ because _Obito_ killed her.

Kakashi snarls. "Who are you?! Obito would have never killed Rin." Except he did. "Tell me! Who. Are. You?"

"Obito."

"LIAR!"

"My name is Uchiha Obito." A smile graces his lips. "I am a chunin of Konohagakure no Sato."

"Shut up."

"I like sweets, onigiri and cool jutsu. My dream is to one day become the first Uchiha Hokage."

"Shut up."

"Namikaze Minato is my jounin sensei. Hatake Kakashi and Nohara Rin are, were my genin teammates. I choked on a piece of candy during my Chu-"

"SHUT UP! Shut up. Shut up. Shut up! Obito would never do this. He loved Rin. He would never, _never_ kill Rin."

Has Kakashi always been this easy to rile?

"I am Uchiha Obito and I killed Rin."

Kakashi screams, "CHIDORI!"

Obito doesn't dodge. Obito doesn't block. He just stands there and stares. He stares at the arm pushed through his chest.

"Why?" Kakashi chokes out and Obito isn't sure what he's asking. Why did you kill Rin? Why didn't you dodge? Why did you let me kill you? Why is this happening? Why does everyone leave me? Why? Why? _Why?_

A smile graces Obito's lips. "Because," blood dribbles down the corner of his lips, "I killed Rin."

* * *

Obito gasps.

He's alive. There's no arm through his chest. No corpse on the floor. No pained, questioning heterochromatic eyes. A dream. A horrible, horrible dream. Obito is alive. Kakashi is alive and Rin is… Rin is dead, but not by Obito's hands. (" _Because Hatake killed her first,"_ a bitter voice whispers.)

Obito ignores it. Kakashi is a bastard. An incorrigible, complete and utter bastard. But Kakashi cared too. And if killing Rin felt like just a fraction of how Obito feels now. Then Obito has kept Kakashi waiting far too long.

The moon is high up in the sky and he's surprised by just how much it freaks him out. If the forest was intimidating during the day, at night it feels as if the tall, dark trees want to swallow him whole. The worst bit is he's still sitting cross-legged _on top_ of the forest. He's scared.

At first thought, the place feels like Training Ground 44 except there you can still hear the sound of life. Sure, it's probably the sound of giant man-eating tigers, flesh-devouring insects, blood-thirsty leeches and a whole lot of other disturbing big, hungry and resilient fauna but it's still sound. Here it's silent. Unnaturally silent. Monsters lurk unseen at every corner and the light from the moon is no comfort. He hates the moon.

There's nothing to distract Obito from his increasingly panicked thoughts. Where is Zetsu? Why hasn't he found him yet? Why is this forest so big? Does it even have an end?

 _Relax._

But Obito can't relax. It isn't safe. In fact, nowhere is safe. There's nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. Nowhere he can turn to so long as he's trapped in this accursed forest. Obito stills. So long as he's trapped in the forest. Trapped in the forest. A _forest._

Obito laughs. It's insane. Completely and utterly insane. It'll broadcast his position to the world. Probably kill him in the process too. It's idiotic, reckless and sheer stupidity. And yet, it _could work._

Uchiha Obito may be the absolute antithesis of the Uchiha archetype. May be the most unconventional Uchiha in the history of the Uchiha clan. However, the fact remains. Uchiha Obito is just that, _Uchiha_ Obito. Whilst Obito may not have that inborn feline grace his clan members are known for. May not have the ability to convey disdain, approval, contempt, pride and so with a single syllable. May not have that natural aura of arrogance and haughty superiority. Obito does have one distinctively Uchiha trait.

He likes burning crap.

"KATON: GOKAKYUU!"

The 'Kill it with Fire' philosophy is an Uchiha philosophy Obito can definitely subscribe to. In fact, if Sarutobi-sama reinstated it as the new Konoha philosophy he'd have an entire clan full of Hokage hopefuls.

The forest explodes in a fiery blaze and something inside Obito hums with contentment.

There's just something about watching the world burn that sates his inner pyro. It's therapeutic. Obito lets himself bask in the destruction for several seconds before he stands up. Turns. And high tails the heck out.

The flames are beautiful, yes. Awe-inspiring, yes. Able to turn you into a pile of ash within half a minute? It's possible. Very possible. However, Obito is not willing to test that.

So Obito glides over the forest, his speed chakra-enhanced to the point he's nothing but a blur and starts spamming out fireballs three times his size left, right and centre. It's a path of fire and death that has probably alerted everyone from Konoha to Kumo back to his whereabouts. But that's okay because the forest is gone now. The forest is gone and he's not trapped. The forest gone and he's _safe._

Well, not really. He's safe-er. A smile threatens to break out.

(o)

He runs and runs and runs. The scenery blurs from fiery death to trees to fields.

Rice fields.

A hysterical laugh escapes his mouth. The whole place is covered with miles and miles of little flooded rice paddies. Ta no Kuni. He's in Ta no Kuni. Right next to home. Now all he has to do is to travel through a ninja-less country surrounded by other ninja-less countries. (Yugakure doesn't count.)

A warm feeling bubbles in his chest and he ignores the now instinctive suspicion that accompanies it. He's almost home.

* * *

The days and nights blur together, he doesn't rest rather there are times he runs with chakra and times he runs without. With the body modifications he does not need to eat or drink, does not tire as easily, does not feel pain as acutely as before. Instead of agony, he feels mild discomfort as he runs his feet to shreds. He guesses there has to be benefits to being trapped in a cave with a crazy. The thought is bittersweet.

Fields become trees again and it strikes Obito just how different the two forests are. Where there was darkness, there is light. Where before he felt like he was drowning, here he feels welcomed.

The Hashirama trees thrum with an energy that fills him to the core. He's safe. He's free. He's _home._

He's also concerned about the security. There is a war going on. Where the hell is the police or border patrols? An unknown has just infiltrated Hi no Kuni, breached the outer defenses of Konohagakure and is fast approaching the gates and there is no sign of any movement to stop him, not that Obito means any harm but it's the principle of the thing. The moment he can, he'll be taking this up with the Hokage and Fugaku-sama. This is unacceptable.

The gates are within sight and Obito stops. He hasn't… hasn't actually had a plan for this bit and he's pretty sure marching up to the gates demanding for Minato-sensei is a bad idea. He's not sure what to do.

Before he can run his mind into convoluted circles, a wave of exhaustion hits him. "Oh," Obito mutters, "that works too." His body hits the ground.

* * *

Obito wakes up to blue. A really blue, blue. It's a kaleidoscope of a different hues of blues and it's very pretty. It's also very familiar. He knows this blue. It's not sky blue because the sky is a shade lighter. It's not ocean blue because ocean blue is a lot darker.

"Name and registration number," the blue says and Obito thinks it sounds worried under the command.

"Uchiha Obito, ninja registration number 010886."

The blue hardens, "Storms clouds loom in the distance,"

It's a simple phrase, one all Konoha Chunin are required to memorise. Obito remembers repeating similar phrases over and over for hours on end, etching them in his memory. As it is, it still surprises him when he utters the answering line.

"Let it rain, let it thunder. Our tree will stand strong."

The blue immediately softens with weary grief and Obito cannot help but think that look does not suit it. "Oh Obito, what have they done to you?"

Obito stays silent. He's not sure what to say. Instead he buries further into his covers. It's cold.

"Minato," a voice calls and Obito turns. Green. It doesn't ring a bell like blue did. It's not warm or protective or safe like blue. But it's important, Obito thinks. Dangerous too. Green speaks in low voices to blue. Shivers wrack down his body. It's really cold.

Obito only hears small snippets.

" _...definitely Obito ...Shintenshin ...genjutsu ...severe chakra exhaustion ...it's a miracle …ran his feet to shreds ...experimented on."_

He watches different emotions flicker through blue. Sadness. Relief. Shock. Outrage. Worry. It's reassuring. Blue cares.

"Bwuu?" Obito frowns, the numbing sensation of severe chakra exhaustion has finally caught up and it leaves his tongue stiff and awkward. He tries again. "Bwoo? Bwoe? Bloo?"

"Obito?"

Obito fumbles, clumsily grasping at blue. "Bluu, Blue." Obito stares willing blue to understand. This is important. He echoes his thoughts. "Thish ish important, Blue. You hafta-hafta lis'en."

"I'm listening, Obito."

"'Kashi. I hafta go back ta 'Kashi. Rinsh gone," the blue stills, "sho I hafta-hafta go back. 'Kashi, 'Kashi _needs_ me."

"How do you know Rin is gone, Obito?" the blue is hard but Obito knows it's just because blue cares.

"He killed her. I saaw. But-But itsh not 'Kashi's fault. _Itsh his_." Venom drips from Obito's voice. It was Madara's fault. Madara killed Rin. So Obito killed Madara. But it still hurts. It aches and it hurts and he's angry. So so angry. But he can't be angry right now because this is important.

"What do yo-"

"Shh. Quiets," Obito mumbles, "Laters. I still hafta-hafta tells you. The moon. Itsh the moon."

"Obito what are you talking about?"

"The mooon, Blue. The _moon._ Itsh important."

"Obito."

"The moon! He wants the moon. Blue, you-you can'ts lets him. I dun' wanna go back," Obito pleads.

"Why does he want the moon, Obito?"

"I dun' wanna goes back. I hafta-hafta come back. You can't let him. The trees, Blue. The trees. I can't go back. I can'ts dos its again."

"You won't go back Obito."

"Promish mee," Obito's eye is insistent. He's tired and cold and it hurts so much. All he wants to do now is sleep. But he can't sleep. Not until the blue promises. The Tsuki no Me Keikaku is an abomination and Obito can't let it happen. Obito won't let it happen.

"I promise."

Obito slumps back. The blue promised.

"Obito? Obito!"

He can sleep now.

* * *

It is warm and his brain feels like it is suspended in molasses. He's sluggish; in mind, body and even chakra. His eyelids feel like lead weights and he really doesn't want to wake up.

He wakes up. ( _Maa Obito, how rebellious._ Not funny Bakashi.)

It's blue. _The blue._ But it's not just the blue. The blue is also blonde and strong and smart and reliable. The blue is a man and the man is sensei.

 _Minato-sensei._

"Minato-sensei!"

Obito stares disbelieving and leans forward to check if it's real. Because it can't be. His body protests at the action and he freezes. It _is_. It's Minato-sensei, _his_ Minato-sensei. He's here and he's real. Not some twisted perfect version of sensei. Not someone to be seen from another's eye. The _real_ sensei. Tears prick Obito's eye.

"Minato-sensei," he hiccups.

"Hey, it's alright. You're home now Obito."

 _Home._ _He's home._ And just like that the dam breaks. He's wailing, crying in a way he hasn't since, possibly, the day he was born. ( _Crybaby_ , Bakashi whispers.) But Obito can't bring himself to care. Minato-sensei is real and he's home.

(o)

He doesn't know how long he cries. All he knows is that Minato-sensei's flak vest is covered in snot and tears and Obito promises he'll wash it when he can.

"I-I'm sorry. I got your vest dirty." Obito scrubs futilely at the mess.

"It's okay. Far easier to wash out than blood stains."

"But."

"It's okay, Obito."

At Minato-sensei's kind but firm voice, Obito reluctantly concedes. "What, how-," Obito stops. He's not really sure what he wants to say.

But Minato-sensei gets it.

"You are currently in a high security room in Konoha hospital. No one but several high-ranked iryo-nin, T&I shinobi and I know of your whereabouts. At 0538, the gate chunin noticed a suspicious noise. They found your body fifteen metres away from the main gate. After confirming that you were alive and unconscious, you were relocated to T&I. There, you were administered basic medical care. Inoichi-san then identified you and called me for confirmation during which you woke up. After that you fell unconscious again."

"How long?"

Obito suppresses a gasp when another voice answers his query. "You've been asleep for twenty-eight hours, Uchiha-san, during which you have been mind-walked and looked over extensively by multiple iryo-nin."

Obito gives the stranger, iryo-nin from his style of dress, an inquisitive look.

The iryo-nin sighs. "From Yamanaka-sama's diagnosis, it seems that you're clean. However, you have gaps in your memory. From the brain scans and Yamanaka-sama's impression, you've been under an extremely complex genjutsu for a very long time right?"

Obito nods. "Well, that does things to your mind. There may be gaps in your memory. If your captor's skills are as advanced as the tests suggest, it's quite possible that you won't be able to recall the relevant details of your ...misadventure."

Though logically Obito understands the iryo-nin is trying to word it as gently as he can, something within Obito bristles at the term 'misadventure'. It's misleading in a way that makes it seem as if Obito has been gallivanting around enjoying himself. As if been tortured mentally and emotionally is something fun. As if he was on some sort of holiday.

There's also the disturbing fact that he's forgotten. Because now that it's been brought to light, he realises there are things missing. Things he can't remember.

He remembers the way Rin's eyes glaze over. The way the light leaves her eyes. He can smell of her blood, can taste the putrid cocktail of burning flesh, rotting corpses and death in the air. He can recall every plea, every cry, every drawn-out fear-filled scream as he crushed the life out of her. The mixture of guilt, pain, despair, rage and worst of all, satisfaction, he feels with every kill is something that is etched permanently into his soul.

He remembers every single death.

And yet, he can't remember who did this to him. Can't remember the bastard that made him kill Rin. Can't remember a name, a face, a place. Can't even fucking remember whether it was a man, a woman or even a dog.

He knows that he hates the moon but not why. He hates being alone and yet there's an overwhelming sense of relief that accompanies it.

Panic bubbles up within him and he stomps it to pieces. Now is not the time.

"What else?" It's not quite a demand but it's close.

"When you were admitted, you were diagnosed with several chakra exhaustion, physical exhaustion and the soles of your feet scraped to the flesh. You managed to wear off almost all the skin at the soles of your feet. It was a miracle you didn't pass out from the pain earlier."

Fair point. Running straight from the north most point of Ta no Kuni to Konoha could do that.

"You also had various first-degree burns along your back. Your captors managed to replace your body with cloned Senju cells. While we cannot be sure of the possible side-effects of the ...implants without operating, from a cursory scan whatever they did to you fixed most of the issues from having been crushed by a boulder. However, there is one problem."

Obito's voice is light, airy even. "Problem?"

"Our diagnostic tools discovered an anomaly with the implants."

"Anomaly," Obito deadpans and the iryo-nin takes it as a cue to continue.

"You have a seal placed directly on your heart."

"My heart," Obito feels numb.

Studying with Rin, Obito knows that the heart is one of the most important points in the chakra pathway system. It holds one of the Eight Gates and arguably the most important of Gates: the Shimon, the Gate of Death.

A small part of him wonders why he's remembering all these facts now and not, say, back when he actually had an exam for them. So he's bad at tests, sue him.*

"Yes. We're not sure what it does but it's highly likely that it's not for benign purposes."

"Meaning that I may be a sleeper agent." The man looks uncomfortable. Good, he should be.

"Obito-kun," Minato-sensei cuts in, "They can remove it. Whilst we do not know what the seal is meant to do, Konoha is home to the best iryo-nin department in the Elemental Countries and I'm not too bad with seals either." Minato-sensei's eyes are warm. _Trust me._

Obito does, "Okay."

"Uchiha-san!" Why is the iryo-nin still here? "Surely you would reconsider. The operation's survival rate is basically zero."

Obito winces. The man's voice is screechy in a way he only thought women were capable of. (No offense to women, but their voice were genetically predisposed to be higher in pitch than men's voices.)

"Remove it."

"But-"

Obito's eye narrows. He really does not like this man.

"Remove it."

Obito dares him to object. Dares him. Luckily for the man, he has some form of intelligence hidden in the cavity of his skull and he backs down. This would have gotten extremely messy otherwise.

"We can't operate until your chakra levels return to a stable level and whilst you're almost definitely confirmed as clean, there are still a few other security checks that need to be done. After your …operation, your condition will need to be monitored closely so you'll stay here for a month. If it all checks out, you'll be released. You'll still need to visit the hospital once a month for check ups and you'll be required to schedule mandatory therapy sessions with the Yamanaka."

Obito snorts. Fugaku-sama would rather die than admit one of his clansmen needed therapy. Uchiha were supposed to be strong and independant. Things like mental health checks outside the ones needed to be admitted into ANBU were at best, frivolous, and at worst, insulting.

"The Uchiha clan do not know that you're here Obito."

There are times where Obito's theory of Minato-sensei being some mind-reading alien seems to hold a little too much weight.

 _(You're an idiot, Obito._

It's totally possible. How did he know I was thinking about that? He. Read. My. Mind.

 _Or you can't lie to save your face._

Pssh. I'm an amazing liar. Besides, someone that …perfect has to be an extra-terrestrial.

 _I give up.)_

(o)

Telepathic abilities aside, this is a serious issue. Not being notified that one of their clansmen has been tortured and experimented on is a major slight against the clan.

Obito has always known that the Uchiha Clan was somewhat isolated and scrutinised but people were also wary of the Aburame and the Hyuuga. The Uchiha's doujutsu and attitude tended to intimidate others. Plus, people who had the authority to chuck you in jail were people to be wary of.

Afterall, policemen are very intimidating.

But this is dangerous.

If the Hokage intentionally withheld this from the clan, it would speak volumes about the attitude to the Uchiha. It would mean that the Hokage was denying the rights of the Clan. It would mean that the Uchiha were being undeniably ostracised. It would mean war.

Because it's not just an empty home that discourages Obito from going home. It's not just the dismissive and disappointed eyes of his relatives that keep him out. Not just the mutters of disgrace and shame that echo when he's in the compound.

Obito isn't stupid.

He knows his relatives are unhappy, knows that they feel oppressed. There are rumours, whispers that sound through the compound when they think no one is listening. In the dark of the night, in the secluded corners of the compound. Whispers that speak of unrest, of dissatisfaction, of _treason._ Whispers that Obito pretends not to hear.

It isn't just because he's a disappointment, a disgrace, a dead last; that Obito is isolated. It's because Obito is _Minato-sensei's student_ and Minato-sensei was Jiraiya-sama's student who was Sarutobi-sama's student who was the Nidaime's student.

The _Nidaime._ The title sends a growl down his throat. It's his fault. His fault that Obito's clan is unhappy. His fault that Obito is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Obito wants to be Hokage. He wants to be acknowledged and bring pride to his clan. He wants to be important, to be special.

He also wants peace, wants the war to stop. He wants to come home to the compound and be proud. Proud of his clan. He wants to open the doors of the compound and let the others in. He wants to build bridges, to build _bonds_ between the Uchiha and the rest of Konoha.

Obito hails from a strong clan, and he's proud of that. But one day he also wants to be able to say he hails from a welcoming one as well.

 _That_ is the real reason why Obito wants to be Hokage.

(o)

There are times where Minato-sensei is on the dot, where his theorised mind-reading skills seem oh-so-very true. But there are also times where he fails to understand Obito to the point it's comedic.

Now is not one of those times.

Because when Minato-sensei looks with those reassuring blue eyes, when Minato-sensei says that he knows Obito's clan makes him feel uneasy. That it's going to be okay. That Minato-sensei _asked the Hokage not to tell the clan_ _about Obito._

All Obito feels is dread.

* * *

*Pretty sure you can't sue people in this society, but the term just works.

Rin was pretty OC but seeing as it is a dream version, I think it can be excused and Obito has two eyes in the dream so plurals were used. I also really wanted this to end on a happy note seeing as Obito escaped certain slavery, insanity, redemption and then death but the story writes itself.

Plus I'm not clarifying the last chapter's ending cause of reasons and I'm mean and stuff.

Feel free to point out typos, I saw a few in the last chapter and it was pretty embarrassing. Oh and THANK YOU REVIEWERS. Didn't expect the reviews to be honest. It's heart-warming.

So yeah, cheers.

-Anon

P.S. Reviews make me smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Naruto

So I wanted this to be ready on New Years but well, as you can tell it's not New Years.

* * *

It's been a day and Obito can wholeheartedly say he _loathes_ hospitals.

The worst thing about the situation isn't the way the iryo-nin and nurses tread around Obito like he's a living time bomb. It isn't how they look at him like he's a freak, a victim and a miracle all in one body. It isn't how no one will tell him _anything_ about Kakashi. It isn't the way the place is sterile and cold in a way that is reminiscent of a dank and musty cave.

No, the worst thing is the food.

Obito likes to think of himself as a rather tolerant person, and compared to his stick-in-the-mud clansmen he's basically a doormat for the world to walk over. However, he has limits.

This is so far past the limit, it's in orbit.

Obito spoons the mashed up …something before letting it sludge out. It's a grayish-green chunky slime; a semi-solid, semi-liquid thing. It's consistency is somehow smooth, gritty, slippery and jelly-like all at the same time.

It looks like crap, smells like crap and Obito is willing to bet his remaining eye it tastes like crap too.

"I am not eating this."

"Obito, you need food."

"I refuse to believe this is food. Food is onigiri. Food is yakiniku. Food is ramen. This is not food."

"Obito."

Obito knows he's acting like a brat. Obito also knows if he stops acting like one they'll make him eat the crap. So Obito will be the brattiest brat there is.

"Minato-sensei."

"Obito, you need to eat. We've already discussed this. We don't know what normal food will do to you."

It's a flimsy excuse and Obito glares, "I've spent who knows long without food or water and I'm _fine._ "

"Obito," Minato-sensei's eyes glint menacingly but Obito does not back down.

He's been brought up within a clan full of people whose glares can be compared to thousands of flaming kunai of death and destruction. (There's also the fact that with Obito's Kamui, he may actually be able to literally rain down flaming kunai upon his foes.)

It will take a lot more than a little eyeballing to move Obito.

Minato-sensei's shoulders slump and Obito has to force himself not to perk up.

"What do I have to do to make you eat Obito?"

"Give me actual food."

Minato-sensei does not answer instead opting to trace patterns along the hospital walls. It is a few long moments before he turns back to Obito.

"I wonder what we'll have for dinner. Kushina was thinking of miso and eggplant saury."

Obito freezes. He knows what sensei is trying to do. It's not all that subtle. But damn him, if it isn't effective.

He hasn't heard of Bakashi since the day he escaped and the promise of something, anything, is just too tempting a fruit.

He knows that it's over, that the battle has been lost. Afterall, what is a bowl of ...food compared to Kakashi? Compared to the boy, the comrade he's promised to protect. To never leave behind again.

Minato-sensei has won. They both know it. But Obito will be damned if it isn't a hard-won win.

Then Minato-sensei faux-casually drops a bomb.

"You know a week ago, a silver-haired jounin was admitted to the hospital for intensive care."

Ha. Hahaha. You know what Obito just thought before? Yeah, forget about it.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO KAKASHI? IS HE OKAY? IS HE HURT?"

Obito isn't panicking. He's calm. He's so calm that he should be a monk or something. It's not like Bakashi could be dying now. Not like he could be crippled and forced to hobble around the street like the elderly he helps.

Obito knows the dangers of their profession. He knows them intimately. Ito-jii has no hands. Emi-baachan walks with a limp. Jinai-jii has burn scars across his face that go all the way down to his hip.

What he doesn't know is what he'd do if Bakashi joined their ranks. Because Obito wasn't there. Because he forgot.

A thought occurs and his voice catches in his throat.

"Is… Is he even alive?" His voice is barely above a whisper.

A laugh sounds through the air. Minato-sensei is laughing. Anger bubbles within Obito. Does he think this is a joke? That Kakashi's well-being is a laughing matter?

Because it isn't.

"He's fine, Obito," Minato-sensei confirms and tension he didn't even know was there leaves Obito's body. "Now, if I promise to tell you everything you want to know about Kakashi will you eat your food?"

Obito wants to crush that flicker of amusement in sensei's eyes. However, since sensei is an elite jounin with a certified degree in badassery and Obito is a barely-scraped-a-pass chunin strapped to a hospital bed, so that's obviously not happening.

Instead, he nods before turning to the bowl.

Poking the substance gingerly, Obito thinks that maybe, just maybe, if he eats it as fast as he can, he will not actually be able to taste it. ( _"It can't be that bad,"_ the hopeless optimist in him says.)

Ten minutes later says it _can_ be that bad.

"Oh Kami, that is rancid!" He chokes out, gulping down huge mouthfuls of water. It tastes like something died in his mouth. Not the 'just died' kind of dead. The kind of dead that's been dead for a couple of days with flies and maggots and the stink of rotting flesh.

It's disgusting and Obito warily eyes the nurses and iryo-nin outside. Whoever created this abomination is truly sick and twisted.

But that's not important. What's important is the fact Obito has _questions._

And so Obito turns towards sensei expectantly.

* * *

Three hours later, a nurse has to leave the room to fetch a bar to pry Obito off Minato-sensei.

"MINATO-SENSEI!" He cries, struggling against the unnaturally strong woman. "DON'T GO!"

"Uchiha-san."

"OR AT LEAST TAKE ME WITH YOU!"

"Uchiha-san!"

"I CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS!"

"UCHIHA-SAN!"

Obito turns to the nurse smiling as if he wasn't just clawing at the walls screaming.

"Yes, Sakamoto-san?"

"Minato-sama left three minutes ago."

"I know."

Sakamoto-san's eye twitches. "Then why are you calling for him?"

The smile on Obito's face is warm and affable. Judging from the veins pulsing on Sakamoto-san's forehead it's also annoying as hell. _Good._

"Oh, I just thought that we could use more excitement." His tone is entirely sincere.

"I ...see." Sakamoto-san's face is twisted into some bastardised grimace. "Your ...thoughtfulness is appreciated but unnecessary, Uchiha-san. Please rest."

The woman leaves the room and Obito's smile immediately drops. As fun as it is annoying the staff, he can't distract himself from the hollow ache he feels at Minato-sensei's absence. He's missed sensei.

Thinking back to their conversation, the hollow feeling grows.

Kakashi is fine. He's in ANBU now, blitzed through the requirements like the genius he is. Minato-sensei can't say much more since well, ANBU, but Kakashi is fine. Healthy. _Alive._

(A cynical voice in his head questions whether he'll stay that way.)

There's a war going on and according to Minato-sensei, Kakashi's been burning through high-risk missions like they're cannon fodder. Obito has already seen one of Kakashi's missions and if food poisoning does not kill Obito, anxiety will.

The Sharingan has many advantages. One of them is photographic memory.

Just as clearly as he saw it then, Obito can remember that battle. He can see Kakashi struggling against the enemy nin. Fighting for his life against an opponent stronger and faster and smarter than he was.

 _Alone._

Maybe they were sidetracked by another nin. Maybe they were positioning for the advantage. It _doesn't matter._

Whatever the reason, the outcome was the same. Kakashi was _alone._

Obito can't rest until he knows _for sure_ that Kakashi's new teammates can be trusted. Obito needs to know that they won't abandon Kakashi. That until Obito is better, until Obito is healthy and sane and not compromised, Kakashi will be safe.

And so Obito slips out of the hospital.

It's easy. Even without Obito's Kamui, the security is pitiful. The lack of trees and nature means he can't tune his chakra. As it is Obito balls his chakra within himself so he's nothing more that a dot of black on a printed page and he passes unnoticed.

The hospital rotations for his room are simple to memorise. Since he's not an enemy-nin and has Minato-sensei vouching for him, his room isn't sealed nor does it come with complimentary guards. The only form of security is the iryo-nin within this wing and the architecture which can be easily bypassed by any sensible shinobi's first choice for breaking and entering.

The window.

Obito questions the intelligence of the architect who included them. It's a wing meant for _security threats._

Obito jumps out, disappearing into the night.

He has twenty minutes maximum to locate ANBU headquarters, find Bakashi's file, Sharingan it to memory and make it back to the hospital undetected.

* * *

Five minutes in, he realises what a bad idea this is.

Obito has a seal on his heart. One that no one is sure of its function and he is currently looking for one of Konoha's main sources of income, defense, military ect.

Looking at the genjutsu-hidden entrance, Obito prays to Kami that whatever the seal is, it's not some type of spying seal. Because this was surprisingly easy.

The ANBU answer directly to the Hokage. They're elite shinobi whose identities and involvement in ANBU are supposed to be anonymous. The ANBU handle the lesser broadcasted missions and duties. Things like seduction, infiltration, assassination, rooting out traitors and security.

This means that the ANBU headquarters need to be near the Hokage tower, in an area where it's not suspicious for shinobi to frequent yet one that is isolated enough that observant shinobi do not get curious whilst allowing for easy yet concealed travel across the rest of Konoha.

The Hokage Monument.

Or to be specific, behind it.

Obito is a chunin. A simple, ordinary chunin. And yet it's been five minutes. Five minutes and Obito has discovered one of Konoha's main bases of military.

Obito is concerned. Very very concerned.

And so he adds another thing to his list of security threats he wishes to discuss with the Hokage and Fugaku-sama before going back to his internal debate.

On one hand, he cannot relax until he knows Kakashi is in good hands. On the other, he is a security threat, if he manages to break into the headquarters he could be sending an unknown enemy intel that could deal a devastating blow to Konoha's defenses.

The choice is simple. He should go back.

Even if Konoha's security so far is a speedbump at best and a joke at worst, ANBU is a whole new level. If he's caught he could spend the rest of his life stuck in a cell in T&I.

But… then again, it's a _whole new level._ A challenge. The thought of it sends a shiver down his spine.

It's a bad idea. A horrible and stupid idea where all outcomes have some sort of negative and the possible profits are meagre.

But…

Obito curses himself. In his next life, he'll be reincarnated into a worm.

He creeps through the entrance, three tomoe lazily swirling in his eye. The genjutsu is easily batted away which is sad because it truly is a good one. Well-woven and layered in a fashion that makes it seem seamless. If Obito wasn't Obito, he would have been ensnared the moment he entered, with or without the Sharingan.

The cavern is silent and empty and it sends alarm bells blaring in his mind. This is dangerous and stupid and reckless (and _fun._ )

Obito henges into a nondescript ANBU, it's a simple henge. One academy students learn; flimsy and insubstantial but it'll _work_.

Because while they will know Obito isn't an ANBU, that he is using an henge, until Obito dispels the henge they won't know it's him and really, that's all he needs.

It's a labyrinth; winding and complicated with many turns and forks. But Obito doesn't worry. Kakashi may not have used the Sharingan here, but he has used it at the training barracks and from that Obito _has learnt things._

The ANBU tattoo isn't just a way to distinguish normal shinobi from ANBU. It's a seal. A seal used by the Hokage to call for members of ANBU. A seal used to identify undercover ANBU. A seal used to _navigate the hidden passages of Konoha._

From what Obito has deduced, the seal pulses whenever you reach the right pathway which is ever-changing thanks to the combination of genjutsu and doton ninjutsu.

Obito devises three possible ways he could navigate the maze undiscovered:

a) he manages to find an ANBU and stalks them to the headquarters undetected,

b) he somehow finds the hidden seals carved on the walls that activate the ANBU seal guiding the way or

c) he scrounges up the fuuinjutsu theory he's *cough*learnt*cough* via osmosis from Minato-sensei and combines it with the Sharingan's ability to perceive chakra flow and manipulation to create a bastardised ANBU seal that will guide him through the maze.

His internal clock (and the watch he requested the nurses get him) tell him he has only eighteen minutes left. Option a) whilst the most straightforward relies on chance and has the highest risk of being discovered. Option b) is the safest option but it requires time. Time he doesn't have.

Meaning Option c) is the best choice.

(" _After, you know, GIVING UP! ARE YOU INS-_ " Obito ignores that voice.)

Fuuinjutsu is a volatile shinobi art. Obito brushes the dirt off a smooth pebble. Each stroke must be measured and precise. Obito pricks a vein. While ink is the most common to medium, blood can be used. With a bloody finger he paints the seal.

Obito knows this is stupid and reckless and just plain suicidal.

Fuuinjutsu isn't a game. It isn't like other shinobi branches. It's _dangerous_. The smallest of mistakes can have catastrophic consequences. Death nearing the bottom of the list. There's a reason why there are only a handful of fuuinjutsu specialists outside the generic storage and explosive seals. It's because those fuuinjutsu hopefuls screwed up and are, best case scenario, dead.

The art of fuuinjutsu has one of the highest mortality rates.

And blood seals. Seriously, he must be crazy. Blood seals!

He could turn back. Bury the seal. Wait out that month before seeing Kakashi. Obito's been gone for a long time. What's another month? Kakashi can handle himself.

The watch ticks. Fourteen minutes.

The hospital is a four minute roof-dash away. Even if Obito managed to get it to work that leaves ten minutes. Could he really locate a single operative's file, memorise it and escape undetected within ten minutes?

Tick. Tick. Tick.

This is stupid. Really really stupid.

Thirteen minutes.

But… then again, Obito's never really been the sharpest kunai in the pouch.

Obito presses his palm to the rock.

 _OBITO, YOU MORON! WHAT ARE YOU DO-_

"FUUIN!"

The seal flares with chakra. It's a small surge but to Obito it's like a beacon for all to see.

A beacon that sets off the security seals.

Crap.

To a person without the Sharingan or sensory skills it seems like nothing has changed. There's no one around. It's quiet and empty and _still_.

Obito has the Sharingan _and_ sensory skills.

It's chaos. The walls are screaming. Chakra is pulsing in large bursts, blaring like an alarm clock. It doesn't just signal ANBU, it disorientates the sensory infiltrators. This entire place, entire maze is a trap. Genjutsu conceals the closing walls. Doton ninjutsu alters the pathway preventing escape. ANBU are swarming the maze, their seals leading them straight to Obito.

The trap is closing and Obito is the mouse.

* * *

Kamui. Kamui. Kamui and KAMUI. He flies through the walls.

The ANBU are converging onto him. Left, right, up and down. They're gaining on him.

He can't let them see his technique. Not if he wants to be able to use it as a Konoha shinobi. They would connect an intangible intruder to Obito the moment he used it. Hiding his Sharingan under the henge, his mind and body races at a breakneck speed. His breathing is becoming laboured and Obito doesn't think he can keep up the pace. If he doesn't figure out something soon he'll be done for.

So he thinks. He thinks and he analyses. No matter how complex or sophisticated it is, the trap is activated by seals. Meaning there has to be a pattern.

Obito dodges earthen spikes that threaten to skewer him, breaks genjutsu before they can take hold. Sweat beads on his brow and his eye widen.

"It's adjusting to my level." The realisation startles a laugh out of him. Forget Uchiha Madara. Forget Senju Hashirama.

Uzumaki Mito was clearly the badass that history should have focused on.

Thirty metres. Twenty metres.

The ANBU are getting closer. If Obito doesn't figure out the maze soon, he'll be in chains before the day ends.

The tomoe of his Sharingan whirl furiously, as his mind works. There's a pattern. There's a pattern. But what?

The blaring chakra screeches. The ANBU are closing in. The maze is changing, adapting. And it is all very distracting.

So Obito reigns in his sensing. Forgets the blaring chakra. Forgets the ANBU. Forgets the maze. They are not his enemies. This isn't a battle between Obito and them.

This is a battle between Uchiha Obito and Uzumaki Mito.

Adrenalin rushes through him. What does Obito know about Uzumaki Mito?

Obito flicks through his mental textbooks. She married the Shodaime, was a fuuinjutsu master, came from the Uzumaki clan. Useless trivia. If Obito could go back in time, he'd smack himself silly for not paying attention in the Academy, the only thing he managed to learn were interesting but useless facts.

The Shodaime loved bonsai. Uzumaki Mito was the first jinchuuriki. The spiral on Konoha shinobi's hitai-ates are actually a sign of the bond between Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure.

Something clicks in Obito.

It's a spiral.

The spiral is the symbol of the Uzumaki clan. The information spill out. Obito remembers back when Minato-sensei tried to inspire them to take up fuuinjutsu. Kushina-nee dropped by every half an hour ranting about the glory of fuuinjutsu and perfection of the Uzumaki spiral.

The Uzumaki spiral is simple, versatile and adaptable. It's the base of most, if not all Uzumaki fuuinjutsu. Seemingly complex and unpredictable at first glance but simple at core.

This is Uzumaki sealing. Obito grins. He's found it.

The maze is a spiral.

Now that he knows the pattern, it's easy. He weaves through the deadly spikes and concealed walls with ease. Dances through the genjutsu traps and just _knows_ the pathways the ANBU travel. It's not that he somehow has a blueprint of the traps and pitfalls imprinted in his mind now. The maze _evolves_. It's that he can predict, can guess that this spot will probably skewer him. That wall triggers a falling boulder.

However, what's the point of knowing where the enemy will attack, knowing how they will attack and when they will attack when you _cannot_ _counter it?_

Like a whirlpool, the trap's pull gets stronger the closer you are to the centre. The walls are closing in. Obito has taken too long figuring out the pattern and now it's too late to escape.

Well, it would have been if Obito didn't have the convenient ability to teleport.

Between Rin and the Kamui, there's no doubt which he'd pick. But Rin is gone and he does have the Kamui, so he'll milk it for all its worth.

The world warps and Obito disappears with it.

* * *

Stumbling, he lands on the Shodaime's stone head. The night air raise goosebumps on his arm. Cancelling the henge, he glances at his watch.

Three minutes.

The rooftops are teeming with shinobi and Uchiha military. There's no way he'll be able to make it to the hospital unnoticed through the village or on the rooftops and they're the only pathways that lead to the hospital. But then again, are they really?

Sinking into the ground, Obito cuts a straight path for Konoha hospital because if you can't go through and you can't go over, why don't you go under?

From there it's surprisingly straightforward. He speeds underneath the prowling shinobi and officers until he's under the hospital and then sneaks in. While Obito is certain that the nin manning the hospital are all very talented in their own right, iryo-nin aren't trained as trackers. Even field iryo-nin rarely engage in missions that require that skillset.

So sneaking back is childsplay.

Entering his room, he slowly loosens his reign on his chakra letting it fall back to its normal range. A cursory scan shows that no one has entered the room since he left and his watch tells him he has less than a minute before Sakamoto is scheduled for a visit. Falling on the bed, Obito lets loose a relieved laugh.

He's sweaty, his lungs are burning and he's lost a quarter of the chakra he's only just regained. Obito smiles. But he did it.

Well, not really.

But he beat the labyrinth. He beat _Mito-hime's_ trap. How many fourteen year olds can say they've escaped a trap designed by _Uzumaki Mito?_

Fingering a smooth pebble, his grin widens. He has just attempted to infiltrate the ANBU headquarters and possibly compromised Konoha as a whole. Had almost blown himself up with experimental blood-based fuuinjutsu and had teams of ANBU on his tail. Has teams of ANBU, Uchiha and regular shinobi scouring Konoha for him _right now._

And the only thing he's thinking of is that he really wants to test this seal out.

Obito's survival instincts are whacked up.

* * *

He's pale and something lays heavy in the pit of his stomach. His body is shaking and his bottom lip stings from where he bit it. He thinks he feel nauseous.

Obito is nervous.

This isn't something he can fight. It's not an enemy he can beat into submission. Not a trap he can break down and analyse. It's not a heavy load he can offer to carry. This isn't something he can just fix. He's helpless and he hates it.

Today is the day of the operation.

For all his confidence in Konoha's medical sector, the thought of people cutting his chest open is ...unnerving. Heart surgery sounds dangerous. Heart surgery mixed with unknown fuuinjutsu sounds really dangerous.

Konoha produces the best iryo-nin in all the Elemental Continents. It has churned out the highest number of fuuinjutsu masters out of all the existing Hidden Villages. But the thing is Minato-sensei, for all his genius, knows nothing about iryo-ninjutsu outside the basics and Obito is pretty sure the iryo-nin aren't all that acquainted with fuuinjutsu outside healing-oriented seals.

Orochimaru-sama is the closest thing they have to a fuuinjutsu _and_ iryo-ninjutsu adept but he hasn't been informed of Obito's continued existence and Obito can't help but feel relieved. As much as the Snake Sannin would increase the chance for success, there's just something about the man hacking at Obito that just… creeps him out. Beyond the general creepiness involved with being hacked at.

As annoying as that iryo-nin from before was, what he said was true. Before today, the surgery was purely theorised and since this is the heart they're operating on, the chances of survival _and_ a successful surgery are low. Extremely low.

Obito is scared.

He doesn't want to die. Not before he sees Kakashi.

Kakashi.

Obito clenches his fists.

Because while he doesn't want to die, he will never forgive himself if he puts Kakashi in danger. Obito doesn't remember who kidnapped and tortured him. But whoever it was, Obito will never let them touch Kakashi.

A nurse places a mask over his nose and mask.

"Obito, you'll be fine," are the last words he hears.

His body relaxes as the drugs take effect and he welcomes the ( _notcomfortable_ ) feeling of drowsiness.

Sensei said it would be fine.

* * *

The sun warms Obito's face and he smiles. He is lying in a field of wildflowers coloured vibrant yellows, deep purples and soft blues. Fluffy clouds drift lazily in the the blue sky.

It's beautiful. It's peaceful. It's also really really itchy.

Grass keep managing to get in his pants and down his shirt and his nose is running like a faucet. Just when he's conveniently missing a pack of tissues.

But it's nice.

It's not that he feels at peace, not with the demons lingering in the back of his mind. It's something he can't seem to put words to. He can't say he feels free or safe or even happy. Obito knows from the faded remnants from before Rin's de-, just from before, that what he feels right now is not freedom or safety or happiness.

His problems are not gone, it's more like they've taken a back seat.

Whatever this warmth is, Obito thinks it may be the closest thing he'll ever be able feel to happiness.

Slowly sitting up, Obito picks a number of flowers. Weaving them together, Obito feels nostalgic. It's been years, possibly closing in on a decade since he last did this and yet the actions come easily to him. Twist, turn and slide in another flower. The repetitive actions are in a way, soothing.

He had forgotten how much he enjoyed this.

As he braids the flowers, he reminisces about his first time doing this.

The memory is old and faint, hidden deep in the recesses of his mind. It has been a long time since he's thought about it.

He was four, maybe three, when he snuck out of the compound. He thinks he was lonely. It was likely. Afterall even then he knew was different from the other Uchiha. They knew it too. To be honest, Obito can hardly remember a time where he wasn't an outcast. The details have faded, lost with the sands of time but Obito remembers it was a warm day. A sunny one just like today.

On that sunny day Obito met a lady. She must have been a very pretty lady because he can remember flushing red every time she smiled. He remembers being enthralled by the way her fingers elegantly and swiftly twisted and twined the flowers adding another chain to her giant pile and had begged her to teach him. Smiling she said yes. Obito remembers her smiling a lot.

Obito's first attempt had abysmal, so was the next one. It had taken his twelfth try before the chain stopped falling apart. It was shoddy work. The colours clashed, the flowers were bent and bruised and their petals had fallen off due to his clumsy and rough handling but the lady's smile had been as brilliant at the sun.

At the end of the day, before he got dragged home by a disgruntled Uchiha officer, she had told him a story.

It was about a team of super powerful shinobi; a super cool jounin, a beautiful flower girl, a talented and stoic boy and a boy with an ever present smile.

At first they hated each other, squabbling and bickering. Always at each other's throats. But over time they had amazing adventures, rescuing princesses and saving villagers and they began to work together. But it wasn't until one adventure that they had become a team.

The super cool jounin and the genin-turned-chunin had split ways to recover a secret treasure. The chunin had were travelling down a road by a cliff when they were ambushed by enemy jounin. Outnumbered and outclassed, the chunin bravely held their ground hoping to hold off the enemy long enough for their sensei to return.

But then one of the jounin summoned a giant water dragon and sent it hurtling at the stoic boy while he was distracted by a deep cut on his leg. Seeing this, the smiling boy jumped and both boys tumbled to the ground dodging the projectile that would have sent them hurtling over the cliffside. In that moment, their amazing jounin arrived and beat all the enemy-nin despite being super tired.

They had barely survived and the near-death experience had shaken the shinobi and the bonds they held became stronger than ever. As a sign of their friendship, the flower girl weaved a thousand flower chains in hopes that their friendship would be one to last beyond the grave.

Obito remembers crowing with excitement at the end. He had exclaimed loudly that one day he would have a team just as cool as the one in the story and the lady smiled.

The parallels create an ache in his chest and Obito thinks that irony is one patient asshole.

Two days later, Obito remembers his four-year-old self sneaking out again only to find her missing, a pile of browning flowers as the only evidence of her existence. He had scoured the entire village three times over asking the baa-chan and jii-san for her. It was pure happenstance he found out what happened.

He was escorting Suki-baachan across the street when he overheard the two chunin gossiping.

The day Obito had met her was the day she was scheduled for a S-Rank suicide mission.

She was a chunin who had come back from a mission gone bad. A C-rank turned A-rank when the clients lied about the parameters. One of her teammates was pushed off a cliff due to a high-powered suiton jutsu. Her sensei died on the way from chakra exhaustion and the last teammate had died from blood loss in the hospital a day later. She asked for the suicide mission a week later.

Obito can't remember what he did next, only that some time later he had counted only eight hundred and sixty four flower chains in the pile. The next two weeks were the first few times he had ever been late to anything.

Obito finishes the floral chain and sets it down. Somehow his chain still looks so messy and clumsily woven. She would have smiled. Her smiles were very beautiful.

Looking back with older eyes, Obito thinks that they were very sad as well.

The sun is high in the sky so Obito reckons it will be many hours before the operation is finished. There's more than enough flowers and it'll be a long time before the dream ends.

With that in mind Obito picks out more flowers and begins weaving.

He still has nine hundred and ninety nine more chains to go.

* * *

So... We won't have the Kakashi and Obito meeting until the seal is out of the way. I'm not sure where infiltrating ANBU came from but that was fun to write. Not sure where the flowers came from too. And if anyone is wondering, yeah the field is based on the one Obito woke up in after escaping.

Umm... Tell me what you think. As in should I up the pace? Should I not? What do you like? What don't you like?

Reviewers are loved as are the favouriters and followers and lurkers, but reviewers hold a special place in my heart.

Apologies for any mistakes. That's all, I think?

~Anon


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** **:** Don't own Naruto.

I have no excuse. I am a horrible human being and humbly apologise but... if I did have an excuse. IT'S ALL FUGAKU'S FAULT!

* * *

The sun is setting and Obito wonders how this dream will end.

Will the world fall to pieces like in the genjutsu? Will Rin appear only to die again, taking his heart with her? Will he wake up slow and sluggish, reluctant to leave his spot? Or will he startle, bolting out in fea-

Obito falls to his knees clutching his chest.

Tears well up in the corner of his eye and his jaw clenches. It hurts. It hurts. _It hurts. IT HURTS._ It feels like someone his tearing his chest apart. Ripping his heart out and all he feels is pain.

Flowers around him shrivel and crumble to dust setting off a wave of death that moves outwards and leaves the field a bare patch of ground. The sky darkens with grey clouds and rain pours from the sky creating the mud that clings to his clothes as the wind howls around him, whipping wet locks of hair into his face.

Obito takes no notice. They only thing he can hear is screaming and it takes a while for him to realise that they're his screams. He's screaming. He's screaming and screaming and screaming. Because it hurts so so much and he just wants it to stop. Make it stop. Please please make it stop.

MAKE IT STOP!

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knows that he can't stop. That he has to keep going. But he doesn't know why. Why does he want this? Why does he have to keep going? What is so important?

 _Who is so important?_

Obito doesn't know.

All he knows is pain and fear and agony and _ithurtsithurtssosomuchpleasemakeitstopplease._

The pain intensifies and all he can see is white. He manages one coherent thought before he passes out:

 _"I still had twelve more chains to weave."_

* * *

Obito's eye snaps open.

He feels like shit. His body aches in a way it hasn't ached since the first time he woke with transplants. His head is pounding but his chest doesn't feel like it's being torn open with a rusty fork and set on fire anymore. Right now it's a dull ache. Painful but he can think beyond the pain.

He gathers his wits and realises he's in a hospital room. Alone. It's silent with the exception of the beeping of machines and he wonders absently whether it's customary for patients who've just undertaken risky surgery to be left unattended.

Probably not.

Counting the tiles on the ceiling, Obito tries to squash the discomfort he feels. Obito doesn't think he's a superstitious person, outside of ghosts. Ghosts are real no matter what anyone says. (That is in no way directed to a certain Mental-Bakashi.)

 _Idiot._

They are real! I swear when I die, you know for real, I'll haunt you for the rest of your life and then you'll know.

(Obito also isn't pouting.)

Either way, Obito is not superstitious. He breaks mirrors without a care in the world, you know, outside of repair costs and scoldings. He avoids black cats only because cats in general are evil. He skips under ladders merrily and is entirely at ease with possible misfortunate consequences. But something in him can't help but feel like the dream was a bad omen.

Nine hundred and eighty eight. He had only managed _nine hundred and eighty eight._

Before he registers what he's doing Obito flings himself out of the window landing clumsily on a tree branch. His chest protests at the action and he kindly asks it to shut up. Obito is going to make twelve more flower chains and forever immortalize Team Seven's - or is it Team Minato now? Hmm… he's always been partial to the number seven, let's keep it at seven - friendship for the generations to come...

 _With flowers. That will probably wither within a week maximum._

Shut up Bakashi. His logic is flawless. Possibly influenced by the drugs he's on, but flawless.

Almost falling off the tree, Obito ambles his way to the nearest (and not owned by anyone else - Obito isn't that high yet) patch of flowers he can find. The sky is dark, not night dark, but the kind of dark that's just before the sun rises which explains why the place seems empty.

Obito takes no notice of the eerie ambience an empty Konoha holds. After the creepy forest, it barely registers on his danger meter. Unfortunately, his new resistance to intent combined with the drugs he's on ensures that the shinobi behind him doesn't register either.

"O-Obito-kun?"

Obito freezes.

He knows that voice. It's tinged with shock and disbelief and even though the stutter short-circuited Obito's mental faculties at first (Holy crap, he can stutter?), he can still recognise it from a block away.

Spinning around, Obito's only eye looks up to meet the Sharingan and in that instant, he wills himself to spontaneously combust.

* * *

Sitting in seiza, Obito calmly sips at the tea - the picture of sophistication and poise. On the inside, Obito is spasming and twitching, working himself into a frenzy. This was a bad bad idea. Why did he leave the hospital? In fact, why did he bother waking up? He is in no way ready to deal with this.

Life has decided to take Asshole 101 lessons taught by the esteemed asshole himself, Bakashi and as a consequence, Obito is currently being stared down by his Clan Head.

Cursing the universe, Minato-sensei, Bakashi, a stray black cat they had passed by on the way to the Uchiha compound and basically anything possibly related to the reason he's in this position, Obito stares back readily.

He forces himself not to flinch or back away. His back is perfectly straight and he sips his tea in a way, he prays to Kami, that looks refined and elegant as befitting an Uchiha and not like the nervous wreck he actually is. Afterall, he has to be perfect. Fugaku-sama is a shark, one sign of weakness and you're dead.

After a long silence, Fugaku-sama turns back to his tea and Obito barely manages to suppress a sigh of relief. The Uchiha clan have this weird thing where they measure an opponent's worth based on their gaze. But then again, they are a clan with a dojutsu kekkai genkai.

"Obito-kun."

"Yes, Fugaku-sama?"

"I was under the impression that you were buried under ten tonnes of rock somewhere in Kusagakure."

"I was."

"And yet, you're here. Not buried under rocks."

"Yes, Fugaku-sama."

It's tense once again and Obito waits for Fugaku-sama to say something, anything. After another handful of minutes, it becomes clear that he won't. So Obito decides to take it upon his own hands.

"Would you like to hear why I'm not buried under rocks?" Obito kicks himself. Seriously? _Seriously?_ What type of ice-breaker is that?

"Hn."

Taking that as a yes, Obito launches into his tale omitting out parts as he deems necessary and keeping his eyes on the decor. Can't Fugaku-sama just... focus of the tea he's sipping and stop looking at Obito? It's not like he's got rice on his face. Right? Obito panics conveniently forgetting that the last time he ate rice was _before Kannabi_ yet somehow, through all his fear and jittery nerves manages to finish the story.

Fugaku-sama's only response is a disyllabic "I see."

It's silent again and Obito's fingers twitch. I see? _I see?_ What does he mean by 'I see'? What does he see? Because Obito is in the same room and he isn't seeing _anything._

Fugaku-sama isn't reacting. His face is something chiseled out of stone and Obito can't get a read. It's unnerving and Obito's split between freaking out over Fugaku-sama's non-reaction and freaking over his own most likely atrocious tea-sipping skills.

For all the traditional etiquette and training he's had for this type of situation - outcast or not, he is still an Uchiha - he's never actually had to put it to use.

Sure, Obito knows his Clan Head - everyone does. But he doesn't actually _know_ his Clan Head. It's not that Fugaku-sama is some distant figurehead standing on top of a pedestal. For all their haughty superiority, the Uchiha Clan is actually quite a tight-knit family so drinking tea with the Clan Head isn't all that strange - it's actually quite a normal occurrence.

Obito knows his clan loves and loves deeply. Fugaku-sama is no exception. Before the war, it was not unusual to see the not-yet Clan Head visiting the families of the deceased, bringing gifts and making sure they were maybe not okay, but that they were dealing. Checking up on the Uchiha orphans and telling them stories (ie. lectures on their duties as Uchiha) but nevertheless it was clear that he cared about each and every one of his clanspeople.

Except Obito.

The nice couple down the street has never given Obito free dango on special occasions like all the other children. Whenever Fugaku-sama visited, it was always for baa-chan. Obito has always ignored with the exception of disdainful looks and cutting reprimands. The only time people other than baa-chan (and later Rin) have ever looked at Obito was when he was helping them.

Obito is a dead-last, a disappointment. Something, his clan has always told him - though, maybe not explicitly - that would be all he'd amount to.

Meaning this is really out of comfort zone.

Obito doesn't drink tea with the Clan Head.

And yet, here he is. Drinking tea with the Clan Head.

As the seconds pass Obito gets angstier and angstier. However before Obito can rage-Kamui back to the hospital, Fugaku-sama decides to speak and consequently flip Obito's worldview upside down.

"I am sorry."

Obito stills. Did Fugaku-sama just - No, he couldn't have, there was no way - But...

Obito refuses to believe his ears. He must have gone temporarily deaf. Because if he hasn't then...

 _Then Fugaku-sama just apologised._

A hand moves to clasp his shoulder and Obito cannot fight the instinctive flinch. Fugaku-sama aborts the motion before Obito realises how that flinch could be interpreted - how it was interpreted.

Quickly, he tries to do damage control but his voice is caught in his throat. So instead, he tries to stare Fugaku-sama into comprehension.

He wasn't - Obito begs Fugaku-sama to understand - He wasn't ready. It's just been _so long_ and he can't remember a time where it didn't - _didn't hurt_. The nurses and iryo-nin never touch him without a thorough explanation ("We need to use a probe to get a finer reading on your chakra levels before we can operate, Uchiha-san") and with Minato-sensei, Obito has always been the one who initiated.

 _He just wasn't ready._

Fugaku-sama gives no indication whether or not he understood but from the way Fugaku-sama's eyes harden, Obito can safely bet on the latter. There's a sinking feeling in his chest and Obito hates himself because for a moment, he had the Clan Head's concern - for a moment, he was not Uchiha Obito, the clan pariah - for a moment, he was _Uchiha_ Obito, an Uchiha - and now? Now, he isn't.

"Why was the clan not informed of this development?"

The dispassionate tone causes Obito's heart to sink further in his chest.

"I-I'm not sure," Obito cringes - wrong answer - and tries to salvage it. "The iryo-nin said that they did not to wish to cause me undue stress after my ordeal."

Fugaku-sama's eyes are like flint and Obito knows that all his efforts to contain this have been in vain. Regardless of Obito's condition, someone must have been informed. _Because_ of Obito's condition someone _should have_ been informed.

And true to form, Fugaku-sama's next question is "Who did they inform?"

Closing his eye, Obito submits to himself to the inevitable.

"Minato-sensei."

CRACK!

The table breaks and Obito has to force himself not to recoil.

"How dare they?" There's something dangerous in Fugaku-sama's voice. "How _dare they?"_

Like a forest fire gone out of control, an Uchiha's ire is something that can't be stopped or repressed or contained until it is _permanently put out_ and Obito fears for what that could mean for his Clan Head.

Like some karmic retribution he did not know what he did to deserve, an ANBU appears from the shadows.

"Uchiha Obito, you are to return to the hospital so that the iryo-nin can verify the success of your operation and monitor your status."

The most logical explanation is that he must have been a baby-killing cannibal who molested little girls in his previous life because otherwise? Obito has no idea what he has done to deserve this.

Intent fills the room; dark and oppressive and a deceivingly calm voice asks "Operation?"

Internally, Obito wails. Why world? All he wanted to do was braid flowers. Was that really too much to ask?

* * *

There's a dark aura in the ward and Obito can count the number of nurses who have attempted to approach his Clan Head in attempts to futilely abate the man's anger on both hands. Out of the eight, Obito has to commend the dark-haired one - he had managed to walk all the way to Fugaku-sama before fleeing at the Uchiha's glare.

It is an accomplishment worthy of notice.

They are currently waiting for the iryo-nin in charge of Obito and he hopes that whoever the iryo-nin is, for their own sake, they hurry. Fugaku-sama is not a patient man.

Fortunately, they don't have to wait long. Five minutes later, a burly iryo-nin enters the room carrying a clipboard with one certain sheepish sensei trailing behind her and prompts them to relocate to an empty hospital room. Bowing to the surly Clan Head with a curt "Uchiha-sama," the muscled woman raises a brow at Obito.

"Usually when people wake up from a major surgery their first reaction normally is not to throw themselves out the window."

"You threw yourself out the window?"

Flushing red, Obito gives a weak grimace. "Ah."

"Why would yo-"

"Namikaze-san," Obito isn't sure whether to be thankful or concerned for the interruption. "What gave you the right to consent to a major operation on one of _my_ clansmen without informing me?"

Concerned. He should be concerned.

"Fugaku," the informal address makes Obito flinch. "What do you mean?"

The fact that Minato-sensei is actually a civilian-born shinobi is often something that is easily forgotten by most shinobi. He's talented and gifted in a way that screams shinobi and his perspective on life just _fits._ But there are times where his civilian background stands out like the red lanterns of the Red-light District.

This is one of those times.

Quickly, Obito intervenes. "Fugaku-sama, whilst a talented shinobi, Minato-sensei is still a civilian-born." Obito carefully ignores Minato-sensei. The man's a shinobi, he'll get over any hurt feelings. What matters right now, is Fugaku-sama _not_ going off to the Elders ranting his rage and anger at the injustice and prejudice shown to the Uchiha.

If Obito can manage that, he's marching up to the Hokage office and demanding for an unofficial diplomacy award, certificate, trophy or just something.

"He is not aware of the clan protocols like you and I are and I'm certain that with the war going on, Hokage-sama has been occupied with more pressing matters than a wayward shinobi. Minato-sensei meant no disrespect."

Obito is pretty sure that won't be enough to appease his surly Clan Head but luckily, Minato-sensei catches on that somewhere along the line he's misstepped.

"Fugaku-sama..."

Words flow from his sensei's silver tongue and reluctantly, Obito is impressed. That is some smooth bullshitting. It seems that while his sensei may be politically incompetent, it is only due to the lack of experience and knowledge not skill. One day, sensei will make for a great Hokage.

The sound of someone clearing their throat draws the trio's attention.

"Seeing as this …discussion has been brought to an understanding can we now focus on my patient?"

"Ah, yes. Of course, Mori-sensei."

"Good," she says wryly, "Uchiha-san should be allowed to leave within the next week if everything checks out."

Something in his chest lightens at the news and Obito smiles.

Seven days.

It's still a tad too long for Obito's liking but it's already a seventy-five percent cut down on Yamanaka-sama's predicted time frame. If this is what girls feel when there's a sale on, he can sort of understand why he gets trampled by civilians every time there's one on.

(Maybe… If he empathises really _really_ hard... Okay, he can't… Civilian girls are weird...)

Either way, things are starting to look up. It's even possible that his train-wreck of a day may actually be salvaged.

So, of course, the universe then decides to drop an explosive tag.

"However, the seal is still unstable so he'll need to visit the hospital weekly to ensure there are no unsavoury side-effects. "

Obito's blood runs cold.

W- _What?_ Seal? What seal? Why is there still a seal? Didn't Obito just undergo an operation that was supposed to get rid of it? Obito _explicitly_ remembers that the entire point of the operation was _to remove the seal._

He must have said that out loud because Mori-sensei is looking grimly at him. "You have to understand Uchiha-san, the heart is a very delicate area and not only that, an _internal_ organ, meaning that we could not use a seal expander to properly analyse the seal and its effects. Namikaze-san may be a genius but there's only so much he can do if he cannot see the seal he's countering. The proposed operation was deemed too risky so instead it was sealed away."

Mori-sensei glances at Fugaku-sama, "The Uchiha Clan would have been informed however we were and are currently short-staffed and before we could spare a messenger we encountered an unexpected complication and had to take immediate action. It isn't an excuse, Uchiha-sama, but we _are_ still recovering from the war effort."

There's something like grudging maybe-not-acceptance-but-something-very-close in Fugaku-sama's eyes before Mori-sensei turns to Obito.

"Obito-kun." Obito tenses.

"Yes, we were unable to remove the seal but be assured, you are no longer a security threat." It comes out like a statement - a fact. Mori-sensei says it the way one would say that the sky is blue or that fire is hot and Obito can't help but want to believe her.

But…

It's too good to be true.

Obito has been stuck in a hell for ages - long enough for days and nights to blur together into nothing - tortured for what felt like hours on end with visions of blood and betrayal and death. Visions of pain and despair and hope and happiness and _perfection._

And that type of experience, it changes people.

He's still Obito. Still the little boy who thinks with his heart rather than his head. The boy who loves sweets and his Baa-chan and a girl he can't bear to think about. And with a certainty that surprises himself, Obito _knows_ that if he saw a baa-san or jii-san struggling with a heavy load he would not hesitate to stop and help - to hell with punctuality. He knows that even if cats are demons summoned straight from the pits of hell he would not pause - would not hesitate - to help one down a tree.

At his core, he's still the same - he's still _Obito._

And yet… something in him has changed. He's different now. Jaded. _Scarred._

(Obito very deliberately _does not_ touch his face.)

When he thinks of his dreams. Of being Hokage, actually being Hokage with the hat and the robes and everything. Something twists in him. When he thinks of Rin. ( _The corpse isn't a corpse. It's Rin. You killed Rin. YOU KILLED RIN!_ ) Of taking her out on dates and handing her flowers and holding her hand, that thing inside him squeezes tighter leaving him gasping for air.

He's scared.

Terrified.

The thought of being happy - no, not happy; he can deal with happiness. The thought of all his dreams and hopes coming into fruition - of good things happening to him - it shakes him at his core leaving him breaking out in cold sweat.

(Deep in his subconscious, he acknowledges that there's something rather unhealthy about his newest phobia.)

Miracles don't exist. (At least, not outside of creepy caves they don't.) What good things that happen to you, have to be made to happen by _you._

The little boy who believed the best in everything and everyone doesn't exist anymore. Perfect worlds don't exist and seals don't just stop working. (Well, the ones being powered by a Gate don't.)

So Obito can't trust this. Obito _doesn't trust this._

He thinks that Mori-sensei gets it because at that moment she speaks up, "Yes, the seal is still active however with the countermeasures in we have place _you will not longer be a security threat._ " Her voice holds a steel-like quality that leaves no room for doubt.

"Your seal is designed to be linked to a master seal - a control seal if you will. Any and all effects of the seal can be controlled by the person who holds the master seal. So while we were unable to remove the seal, we were able to move the link between the two seals. So the operation was revised to change the master seal to another seal which the Hokage is now holding onto. Once you've recovered and have been cleared for leave, you'll be brought to the T&I to go over the seal's functions and link between the new master seal and the person who will be in possession of the seal will be decided."

Obito tunes out as Mori-sensei goes on to outline the tests that will be conducted monitor his well-being and leaves the room for the required equipment.

He… isn't very sure how to feel.

On one hand, Obito has gotten everything he wanted. He's free from that phantom psycho's control, will not be stalked around by ANBU for the rest of his life for possibly selling out secrets and endangering his comrades and will be cleared for active duty when he recovers.

But, on the other hand, he's chained now. Shackled.

Whoever holds that seal is essentially his master and keeper. Yes, they don't know how the seal functions yet but Obito can make an educated guess. The possibility of a loyal shinobi - one with his abilities (not that they know of those) who is literally unable to betray or refuse Konoha.

It's not really something that the Council can disregard, is it?

As much as Konoha likes to preach morals and integrity and all those fluffy rainbow civilian ideals, Konoha is still a village - a _shinobi_ village - and for all that Obito wants to believe in Konoha.

He's not a naive little boy anymore - he can't afford to be.

Glancing up, Obito takes in his companions' reactions. There's an oppressive aura hanging around Fugaku-sama that isn't exactly negative, just tense - like that feeling you get just before the jack-in-the-box jumps out of the box. In contrast, Minato-sensei seems almost relaxed. Calm. Even confident.

A light bulb flashes above Obito's head.

Oh.

 _Minato-sensei believes in this seal._

Relaxing, the tension in his body dissipates. Obito trusts his sensei. If Minato-sensei believes in this method then Obito will too.

Sighing quietly, Obito closes his eye as they await Mori-sensei's return. Hopefully, the day will end quickly so he can go back to the bed he should have never left in the first place.

Just as that thought is mentally given form, obnoxious rays of light shine through the recently opened windows burning his retina and a painfully cheerful voice cries out.

"Oh wow, look at the sunrise!"

If there actually is an Asshole 101 with a Lesson #1 Ruining Obito's Life, Obito will not be surprised _at all._

* * *

Counting the tiles on the ceiling, Obito ponders quietly to himself

This is the first time he's been left alone since he's arrived. Well, not really. He's been alone before, but during all those times his thoughts and troubles bothered him in their place.

So a revision: This is the first time he has been able to sit down and just think - without worry or fear or just having to keep his guard up. Just to ruminate.

 _How is the war effort? Are we losing? Winning? What's happening? How long have I been gone?_

 _How is Kakashi? Is he alright? Is he safe? Who are his teammates? Can they be trusted? Would they die for him too?_

 _What about Rin? Her funeral? She loved tulips. Did you bring them to her?_

 _What did you bring to mine?_

Obito freezes.

Mine. _His funeral_ \- he had a funeral - a ceremony for a _dead person._

Shakingly, Obito laughs. T-there's no way, right? They wouldn't think I was dead, right? I mean, they couldn't have.

There's a solemn tinge to Bakashi's voice. _Half your body was crushed under ten tonnes of rock in the middle of enemy grounds. Nobody in your squad had the skillset to dig you out and even if they could have you would have died before anyone with the abilities to save you was reached._

Horror seeps from every pore of his body. T-they thought I was dead, didn't they? I let them think I was dead. His voice is nothing but a whisper. But on the inside, he's screaming.

Baa-chan. His poor, sweet, lonely Baa-chan. What has he done? He was the last one left of their family. The last reminder of her beloved son. Who helped her with the groceries? Who helped her up and down the stairs? There had to be someone, right? The desperation in his thoughts is almost tangible.

And Kushina-nee. It's all fuzzy but didn't he _promise_ to come back? Obito cannot bear to think of her thoughts when three instead of four returned that day. Who helped her prank those stick-in-the-mud jerks while he was gone? Who bickered with her over ramen?

A stab of deep-seated revulsion pierces his gut.

Rin. He let Rin think he was dead before her death, didn't he? Images bloom in his mind faster than he can banish them. He's known Rin since forever and he _knows_ her. She would have blamed herself. Oh, she would have never told anyone - would have continued smiling and laughing and acting as if everything was okay - but on the inside, she would have hated herself. To think he let her die blaming herself.

Obito is a monster.

His thoughts fall to his last teammate and he despairs.

Kakashi. He's never been good with deciphering micro-expressions and his stoic teammate's mask has always been a nuisance, so he can't really guess what Kakashi would do or feel. But… he doesn't need to guess.

For all his attitude, Kakashi cares - Obito knows he does.

Even if he didn't. To lose a teammate on a mission where you were the commanding officer would be disheartening in the very least. To lose one on your _first mission_ as a jounin. If it was Obito, he'd be devastated.

Did I do enough? What did I do wrong? If I said this, did that, saw that _would he have lived?_

Genius or not - there are some blows you just can't block.

Then to be forced to kill your remaining teammate.

Obito remembers his dream. Sees her bloodied corpse strewn on the floor. Can feel that painful mix of shock and horror and self-loathing even now. ...But he also remembers the relief. The cold air kissing his cheeks as he stares a pale moon - no broken body in sight. It was a dream, just a horrible horrible _dream._

When Obito woke up, he woke up to a quiet forest. When Kakashi woke up, he woke up to a graveyard.

Unlike most Uchiha, Obito actually has an imagination.

He can see Kakashi waking up. Kakashi's mind would be fuzzy and his body would tremor from cold chills - the feeling you get from severe chakra exhaustion. The first thing he'd register would be the smell - death and blood hanging heavy in the air. He would be confused but calm - no threats or ill intent to set of any inner alarms - slowly going over the cloudy memories in his head.

There was a mission. Somewhere north of Ta no Kuni. He'd slowly digest each fact until he reached, "I killed Rin." The thought would come out like a statement - no emotional response at all. After a moment, he repeated it again, horror-struck. _"I killed Rin."_ A mixture of shock and horror would have set in before the overwhelming sense of revulsion.

 _"I killed Rin."_

Obito cannot guess how long Kakashi would have laid there before the shinobi conditioning kicked in. _Compartmentalise. Push it all into a box and deal with it later._ But after he would have scanned the area. Noted the dead bodies littering the field and clinically deduced a third party was involved. Obito doesn't want to know what happened when Kakashi realised that Rin's body was gone. _Missing._ But he knows the end result - no grave and no closure.

The worst part would have been the report. As the only survivor and witness, it would have to have been verbal - likely delivered straight from the hospital bed. Kakashi would have felt numb inside - his emotions still buried deep in that box making report precise and unsentimental - a string of rational, objective observations and decisions with no mention of the emotions that had driven them.

Like sheep, people would accuse him. Blame him, isolate him, spite him - anything to bring the genius prodigy down. The worst part would be that he'd believe them - those sheep and their _lies._

It was my fault. I'm not fit to be a jounin, not fit to be a shinobi. I killed Obito and now I have killed Rin.

There's a sick feeling in Obito's gut as something forgotten drifts to the front of his mind.

 _Protect Rin … or I won't forgive you._

"Fuck."

 _"Fuck."_

The curse rolls off his tongue (and he prays to Kami that his Baa-chan will not hear) because there's just no better way to express it. He fucked up. Strangers, their opinions and thoughts can be ignored - they don't matter. But to go against a comrade's dying wish - to fail a _friend's dying wish._

Obito has fucked up.

Screw bedrest, he has some serious business to attend to.

* * *

Okay... Notes.

Fugaku-sama is still seriously ticked off. One of his clan members was put under the operating table without his knowledge and there's a possibility Obito could be used to spy on the Uchiha unknowingly. He's just rational about it since he's cooled off a bit.

I didn't realise it until now but I am putting off the Kakashi-Obito meeting - probably cause I'm scared I'll screw it up. Okay... I promise you guys. Next Chapter.

Umm... Dunno what other points to address. Ask me if you have questions - I will or will not answer depending on whether it'll be a spoiler.

Also, help would be appreciated. How do you do strike-throughs on Fanfiction?

That's it. Reviews fuel inspiration and motivation.

~ Anon


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

So Happy Valentine's Day. This isn't exactly a romantic chapter... but yeah.

* * *

Scaling down the tree trunk, Obito wonders to himself whether this will become a common theme with his hospital visits - he's never needed medical attention that required overnight stays before. Even if it doesn't become a habit, the hospital should really invest in _barred_ windows because these ones are just begging to be escaped through.

Either way, Obito thanks the deities that it's against procedure to change shinobi into those flimsy hospital gowns without their explicit permission - meaning that he is dressed in the Konoha standard uniform, generously issued to him by the T&I - allowing him to easily blend into the crowd with only a nondescript facial henge so he only draws minimal attention when he seamlessly slips into the pedestrian traffic.

It takes thirty minutes of aimless wandering before Obito admits to himself that he could have thought this out a little better.

Konoha is one of the five major shinobi villages. So, it's not exactly a small place. Obito isn't talented enough to sense out a single chakra signature from the masses and his range can only be described as puny. Outside of that he literally has no other tracking skills.

And going by the amount of times he's _seen_ Bakashi, it's highly likely the asshole's not even in Konoha right now.

God damned workaholic.

Well, maybe he's not a workaholic. There is a war going on… so he could be made to work his butt off. But still... ANBU? The bastard's only thirteen - or was. Maybe it's been like years or something and Bakashi's old man hair is finally age-appropriate making it socially okay to be an ANBU - after all, it will not surprise him in the slightest if Minato-sensei is one of those fountain-of-youth types.

The best course of action is to infiltrate the mission desk and check out the list of out-of-village shinobi. Hopefully, Kakashi is taking a regular mission so Obito won't have to take a second shot at breaking into the ANBU Headquarters.

Making his way down the main street (at civilian speed. Kami, how civilians can stand it?), Obito watches the fading pink rays of light. Judging from the time (Obito still can't tell time via the sun. He just passed by a clock a block ago), he only has ten to twenty minutes before - he shudders - _dinner time._

He honestly has no idea what going through his brain at the time - leaping out without a plan. You would have thought that M-… Ma-... evil-creepy-genjutsu-kidnapper dude would have trained it out of him. It's not like he'd just coincidentally bump into Kakashi on the street.

Thud.

"Ah… Gomen, I wasn't looki-" Obito stills. There's a shock of silver hair. A slanted hitai-ate. A lucid orange book.

(Obito isn't sure what to comment on first. 1) Does he really need to read it on the streets? Rude much. And 2) orange. Seriously, orange? Obito likes the colour and all, but printing jutsu theory with _bright orange_ covers is just asking for books to be stolen.)

"...you okay?"

Coming out of his daze, Obito realises he's been spoken to.

"Are you okay?" The stranger he just bumped into looks at him with concerned eyes, "You just spaced out all of a sudden."

"Uh yeah. I'm fine. Just fine." Obito answers distractedly.

"Are you sure? You don't look well. I can call for a doctor or iryo-nin if you want?"

"No no. I'm fine." Where is he? He was just there. "I just need to go ...find someone."

Obito speedwalks aways from the man before breaking out into a sprint. Scanning the crowd frantically, he can't find hide or hair of any bastard chibi-jounin. Giving into the urge to curse, he lets out a string of expletives. Kami, damn it! He was just there.

You were _just there._

Obito can't help the edge of hysteria that creeps into those last two words. He can't lose Kakashi. Not again, not when he's so so close.

 _Relax Obito. If we really did see me, then I couldn't have gone that far. At this range you'll be able to find me. It's going to be okay. Relax._

Breathing deeply, Obito wills himself to unwind. Mental-Bakashi is right. He needs to relax. Calm down. Agitation will only disrupt his sensing.

Easier said than done.

Anxiety and desperation gnaw at the corners of his mind and he can't- can't think. Kakashi. _Kakashi._ He can metaphorically feel the bastard slipping from his grasp as each second passes.

He's going to lose him again. Going to forget him again. And he can't deal with that. He's already lost Rin and- and he just can't.

 _Damn it, Obito. Relax! I'm here. It's going to be fine._

But-

 _It_ will _be fine._

There is steel in his voice that gives no room for doubt. Things _will_ be okay.

 _Now just listen to my voice. Breath in._ Obito inhales. _Breath out._ Obito exhales.

 _Good. Now visualise my chakra. Remember how it feels to you. It's shape, texture and size. The way it tastes or sounds or smells._

Learning to sense chakra is like opening a sixth sense. It's like all the other senses but not. An analogy would be how many things taste the way they smell but some things don't. Taste and smell are similar senses but different. Chakra sensing also highly objective - dependant on the sensor's perception of their target. What could be warm and comforting to one sensor could be scorching and inhospitable to another. Some describe chakra as textures, others smells - it differs from each sensor.

It's why sensory-nin going into the Tracking Squad take various specialised tests and why chakra samples - whether they be from torn clothing or remnants of chakra from jutsu use - are essential for sensors.

Relaxing, Obito closes his eye and paints.

Before Kannabi, Obito used to liken Kakashi's chakra to ice or steel. Cold and sharp and hard. Now, however, Obito thinks it's more like a stream of water - cool and refreshing with enough iciness to shock someone awake. It used to confuse Obito that for all the bastard's apathetic demeanour, his chakra was quite active - running, flowing, always moving.

Now, Obito reckons it's where Kakashi's lightning affinity really shows. Which makes sense because raiton ninjutsu is all about energy - movement. There's a reason why there aren't many, if any, defensive raiton ninjutsu.

There's also the Hatake White Chakra attribute. White Chakra is dense, almost solid - meaning that a Hatake's chakra reservoirs are generally below average but their ninjutsu are much more powerful. To Obito, this translates into a 'brighter' chakra signature - more chakra in one spot meaning easier to distinguish. In his mind, the cool stream of water becomes a cool stream of molten shiny metal - maybe mercury but without the toxicity.

Because Bakashi's chakra is can in no way be described as toxic.

A lesser known characteristic of the Hatake White Chakra is its calming effect. It soothes and relaxes making many Hatake Clan members known for their easygoing nature and carefree disposition - something that Obito at the time had scoffed at.

His sensory skills are nowhere near Minato-sensei's level and he doesn't know iryo-ninjutsu like- like… Anyway, Obito has never directly been in contact with Kakashi's chakra outside the receiving of ninjutsu and the once-in-a-blue-moon times that the asshole flared out his chakra.

(Kakashi doesn't do contact - physical or chakra-based. Contact within the scope of distress flares, enemy action and general in-battle contact can be tolerated - outside of that is a big fat no-no.)

So Obito can't really tell you how Kakashi's chakra feels.

Luckily, he's a pretty good guesser.

It would be cool. Not a chilly cool but the-sun-is-literally-roasting-me-alive-i'll-chill-in-the-pool kind of cool. Relaxing too.

It would feel tingly and light like a soft drink* shaken up. No, Obito corrects, like drinking a glass of champagne* with light fizzy bubbles that makes you feel bubbly inside - like you're floating on air - but also makes you feel calm and relaxed.

Immersing himself into that imaginary aura, Obito sighs in contentment, he feels his body melt into a gooey mess and for the first time since Kannabi, he's at peace.

Days, months, years of paranoia and stress and fear melt off his person and he feels free. For the first time in forever - without the use of drugs - he's _not_ hyperaware of every movement and motion in the corner of his eye.

Butting into Obito's sleepy time (because he's an asshole), Mental-Bakashi decides to speak up.

 _Excuse me, Stranger-san?_

Hmm?

 _The training grounds are off limits to civilians. Also, if you continue stalking me and smiling creepily without an explanation, I'm afraid I'll have to detain and interrogate you. You see, it's strictly against the law to stalk shinobi, Stranger-san, and even if I wasn't a shinobi - stalking little boys is a tad bit not-good, isn't it?_

Frowning, Obito can't help but note that something's off. The voice is the same but… for all its light-hearted quality, there is no jest behind his words. Meaning...

Did… Obito thinks, scandalised. Did Mental-Bakashi just accuse me of _pedophilia?_

Obito can metaphorically see the chibi drawing of his teammate facepalm. _I'm stuck with a moron. Just open your overpowered eyeballs of doom and destruction._

What?

 _Obito, open your eye._

Eh…?

 _OPEN. YOUR. EYE!_

Obeying, Obito looks up. Three wooden posts. One large kunai-shaped slab of stone.

The Memorial Stone. There's nothing here. Why would Mental-Bakashi lead him here?

Kakashi's imagined chakra flares up dangerously - which is weird because he already opened his eye, shouldn't the imagined chakra be go-

Obito pauses.

There is a presence behind him that is reminds him of running water, shiny metals and something refreshing.

Keeping his gaze pointed at his feet, Obito slowly turns whilst gradually tilting his head up.

Steel-grey eye and a slanted hitai-ate. Obito tenses. Kakashi.

 _Finally! Now say something before he hauls you off the to T &I._

"Umm… Er… I…" Floundering over his words, Obito stops before deciding on a hesitant, "...Hi?"

 _Done. I am literally done with this. I wash my hands off of you._

Hey! Obito thinks indignantly. You try living in a cave and see how your social skills fare.

 _Mid-conversation. Pay attention!_

Snapping his focus back to Real-Kakashi, Obito realises that he's missed a good thirty seconds of his life and isn't really sure what's going on.

After a solid five seconds of staring, Kakashi seems to realise that Obito is utterly clueless.

Sighing irritatedly, Kakashi barks out a cold "Come" before he pulls out that neon orange book from the security of his flak vest.

As they make their way through the twilight, Obito manages to catch several snippets of "...keep getting weirder", "… next time, spandex", "drunkards" and "...what is my life" muttered under Bakashi's breath.

This… isn't exactly how he saw their reunion going. But then again, actually meeting Kakashi seemed like such a far-off dream that he doesn't really know what he was expecting.

The shock from seeing, meeting and talking to Kakashi colours any feelings he may have leaving him unsure and hesitant. So instead of talking, Obito deigns follow close behind his teammate - silently, drinking the sight of him in like a man stranded in the desert would drink water. They can deal with the talking bit later.

The lights of the streetlamps cast harsh shadows along his face concealing the last few visible parts of his face.

He's grown taller. Obito thinks. He has maybe an inch or more on me now.

It's an odd sentiment because just as Kakashi has always been stronger, smarter and more talented; Obito has (had) always been taller. It's a small thing but he used to pride himself in the fact - it helped kept the green monster at bay.

Now, all he can manage is a pensive sadness. How long has he been gone for? What else about his teammate has changed?

It isn't just in height that Kakashi's grown either.

There's an _edge_ to him. A subtle change - something Obito would have never noticed before Kannabi. It's in the way he walks, the way he talks; that, to put it to words - just puts him down as a _ninja._

(Not that Kakashi wasn't a ninja before - _"From the moment you wear that hitai-ate you are and forever will be - unless you go traitor on us - a proud shinobi of Konohagakure."_ \- but there's a marked difference between being a shinobi and _being a shinobi_ , a difference that sets apart those who make it into the Bingo Books from those who don't.)

Every shinobi, every true shinobi has a distinctive edge to them, a tinge to their chakra that just whispers _danger._ Something that tells you, this person is someone to be wary of.

This edge is the basis of all intent made to intimidate.

Obito knows that Kumo-nin take that edge and _enhance it_ \- filling entire rooms with so much intent that their undeniable power just saturates the air scaring both foe and friend - and that Kiri-nin _manipulate it_ so that their chakra just bleeds off bloodlust inspiring the various legends of the Monsters in the Bloody Mist.

Konoha-nin, being full of tree-huggers, on the other hand, hide it.

There is a reason why, "All Konoha jounin are insane," is an unofficial yet universally acknowledged truth.

Jiraiya of the Sannin, one of the greatest shinobi to come from Konoha, regularly peeps on the ladies section of the onsen. Kushina-nee pranks compulsively - and if what Minato-sensei has said is to be true, that she's actually _cut down_ on pranking - then Obito has just discovered a brand new affliction, CPD (Compulsive Pranking Disorder).

He hasn't learnt how to hide that subtle difference yet, but it's undeniable. Kakashi is dangerous.

There's a lethal grace to his movements that speaks of power which he just can't quite conceal. Compared to now, he Kakashi of before was almost robotic in his movements. Now, his motions are fluid, flowing seamlessly into each other and leaving no visible weak points and it makes Obito sad to realise that this new deadliness isn't something that was likely to have developed within the timeframe he was gone.

Kakashi may be genius but gaining that edge takes experience, a whole lot of it, to develop and while he's taller, Kakashi's face still has that hint of rounded softness that only childhood can offer - meaning that Obito can't have been gone for more than two years.

Jounin are elite shinobi. They aren't just competent in each shinobi art, they _excel_ in each field. They're the leaders, the inspirations, the shinobi who are _examples._ In a taijutsu battle, a jounin who doesn't specialise in taijutsu trumps a chunin who does a thousand times over, in a hundred different ways. They take the highest level missions outside of ANBU (and guess what? Kakashi's in ANBU too).

Obito knows Kakashi's capable. But not knowing what missions the bastard's been assigned, not being able to have his back - it worries him.

It takes experience to gain what Kakashi now has and Obito worries about just what type of experiences (or experience) Kakashi has had to now have it.

His thoughts are nearing dangerous seas.

Too focused on carefully steering his thoughts to safer waters, Obito does not notices when Kakashi decides to stop abruptly.

They collide.

Thud!

Ow, what is this guy's back made of. Obito's nose hurts. It's like walking into a solid w-

Obito freezes.

It's solid. _He's solid._

The hand still on Kakashi's back does not waver. It's warm. The fabric of his shirt can't conceal the heat his body gives off and suddenly, Obito realises that this is real. _This is real._

Kakashi's here - solid and warm and breathing and alive and- and _real._

Kakashi's real.

Obito can smell the faint scent of steel and sweat and dogs and Kakashi. He can hear the soft inhale and exhale. Can feel that strong, healthy, _living_ heart beat through the fabric of his shirt.

It's like waking up from a daydream. Objectively, Obito knew that Kakashi was alive - that any Kakashi he would encounter here would (probably) not be an illusion.

But then again, he knew it the same way he knows that Bijuu are monsters, that the Land of Snow is cold and that Suna is sandy - through secondhand information, logical deduction and the fact there are things that you just _know._

However, it's not the same as actually seeing him breathe, hearing his voice, feeling his cool chakra swirl around him and knowing; no, _understanding_ that Kakashi is alive.

Quickly removing his hand, Obito hastily apologises before looking down.

He can't even look at Kakashi right now. Because if he does, Obito knows there will be psychotic screams of "HECK YEAH, HE'S REAL!" and "IN YOUR FACE CREEPY-KIDNAPPING- GHOST-MAN!" sounding from the rooftops of Konoha and Uchiha-style fireworks (KATON: HOSENKA NO JUTSU!) fired left, right and centre.

Which is bad because that will attract attention he can't afford until a good two hours after - he fears that the shudder is becoming instinctual - _Dinner Time._

(Yes, the capitals AND italics are entirely necessary.)

But despite his best efforts, a dopey grin can't help but sneak its way onto his face.

He's happy.

(o)

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he acknowledges that he hasn't even begun picking the broken pieces of his heart, his mind and his psyche - the broken pieces of himself.

But he will.

Things will be okay. Not perfect - not without Rin - but okay and Obito's fine with that. He's had enough perfection to last lifetimes.

Things are going to be fine.

Because while it isn't quite as stable as four, three is still a good number. They can build something new from three.

It will hurt - there will be arguments and misunderstandings and nights where that Rin-shaped hole carved out of their hearts _just won't stop bleeding_ \- but they can survive.

They _will_ survive.

But for now, Obito is content to shadow Kakashi.

* * *

It's not until they're at the doorsteps of the Hokage Tower that Obito realises that Kakashi may not share the same sentiments Obito feels at their reunion. That the silence during their journey wasn't due to mutual apprehension and social awkwardness.

It doesn't occur to him until then that Kakashi might not trust Obito.

(Not that Obito can blame Kakashi. The henge, shifty behaviour (ie. stalking) and inability to answer any of his questions gives a rather misguided impression.)

Yet, he can't help but feel a little hurt that Kakashi would ever feel suspicious - in the this-guy-could-be-an-enemy-nin way - about Obito.

Because Obito trusts Kakashi and… he thought… that maybe... that trust was reciprocated. He feels foolish now, looking back, but hindsight is always 20/20.

There's something stuck in his throat and, to his horror, his eye is starting to sting.

It isn't fair, Obito has died for Kakashi and lived for him. Not lived - _lives. He lives for Kakashi._ How many more acts of loyalty does a guy even need?

There's a seed of uncertainty lodged within him. If… he managed to misjudge this about Kakashi, what else has he misjudged?

Forcibly pushing that down, Obito moves onto his next… concern.

Is this really the standard procedure for taking care of suspicious characters? It doesn't seem very… smart. The Hokage Tower is where the _Hokage_ resides and what's even worse _right next to the Academy -_ the next generation. Shouldn't he be handed over the Uchiha Military Police and stuff.

When this is cleared up, Obito swears to Kami, he _will go over all the security measures and procedures_ because seriously, why haven't they been invaded yet?

They're waiting in the Mission Desk Room which is _another security issue_ and Obito isn't sure whether the indignant rage he's feeling is from Kakashi's lack of trust or the fact that Konoha has so many holes in their security that _Obito is comparing it to a strainer._

Only three minutes pass but the weight of Kakashi's not-as-discreet-as-he-likes-to-think-it-is scrutiny proverbially is a heavy burden upon his shoulders.

(Obito isn't crying. It's just that his eye was itchy. …Just because you think Obito is crying, doesn't mean he is. …That was an eye-rub, not a super-ninja-sneaky Wipe Tear no Jutsu.)

Seriously, what are they waiting for and what's taking them so long? Is this what the team had to deal with every training session? If so, Obito sincerely apologises. How can they stand this?

And why isn't the hand moving? Obito swears on his remaining eye that the second hand of that clock is stuck. It's been a second already, why hasn't it moved? This is an outrage. A hospital's clock is bro- Oh, it moved… never mind. It's all good. Everything's good.

… Tick. … … … … Tick. … … … … … … … Tick.

His eye _does not_ twitch.

… … … … … … … … … ... ... ... ... Tick.

This is going to be a long wait.

* * *

Boredom.

It creeps on you, slowly and steadily - like how waves gradually, over times spanning centuries, carve the cliffs and caves out of stone. It makes time drags on and on and on- seconds become minutes become hours become days - and Obito can feel the last vestiges of his dubious sanity slipping away.

Something, _anything_ happen. Please, he begs looking to the tiled ceiling for divine intervention. If not for me, for the people I may or may not maim. Please.

Obito has said it before: "if you want something to happen, you have make it happen _yourself."_

...Okay, that is a paraphrase but - to be fair - it gets the message across. Kami better deliver because Obito's capacity for empathy is shot (due to a certain bastard) and his morals have been twisted enough that without his compassion, homicide looks like a rather rational option.

… Tick.

Okay, that's it.

Obito shoots up, ready to descend on some poor so-

"OBITO!"

He barely catches the glimpse of a yellow flash before he feels two arms wrap around him in a vice-like grip, immediately choking the air out of him and dispelling his henge. He can't breathe.

From the corner of the room, he barely catches a "What?" because he's too busy fearing for his ribcage.

"Mi-Minato-sen-" he chokes out. "L-Let me go!"

"Namikaze-san, I'd advise you let go of my patient before you kill him."

The air rushes back to his lungs and he breathes in deeply. He may just owe Mori-sensei his life.

Once he's done catching his breath, he looks up. Crap, Minato-sensei does not look happy in the slightest.

"Obito, do you have any idea how worried we were? No note, no "Hey nurse, I'm going to leave the hospital _right_ _after a serious operation_ ". You didn't even have the courtesy to leave any chakra behind to track. _What were you thinking?_ "

"I-"

A rough timbre sounds from his right.

Fugaku-sama, Obito realises and his heart sinks. "Obito, that was ill-advised of you and your behaviour was inappropriate as a Konoha shinobi and wholly unacceptable as an Uchiha. _Explain yourself."_

Their disappointment and distress is almost palpable and he can't bear to look up.

"I…" Obito swallows roughly, "I have no excuse. I just-" Obito pointedly does not look at Kakashi. "I just wanted some air," he finishes weakly and from his audience's unimpressed expressions, he knows they won't accept it.

"Well, Uchiha-san. This next time you… wish for some air, just opening the windows should suffice. Windows are not for jumping out of." The reprimand makes Obito flush red.

"A-Ah. Hai, Mori-sensei."

"Now, let's return you to your room. I hear that Katayama-san worked especially hard on your dinner, tonight." Now, if Obito had a hit list, whoever this Katayama guy or gal is, they're going straight on the top of it.

They begin to make a move to leave when, "W-Wait!"

Kakashi's ears redden at the sudden attention.

"I-"

He stops. Breathes in deeply. Then starts again.

"O-Obito?"

He's looking at Obito with a whirlpool of oh-so-familiar emotions that hit Obito straight at home. It's fear and awe and a desperate, almost feral _hope._

 _I can't believe it,_ says his body language, _but I want to believe it,_ says his eye.

You can believe it, thinks Obito. Because this is real. We're both here and alive and _real._

But they have an audience so those words stay unspoken. Instead, he smiles sheepishly, rubbing his shoulder.

"Ahh… I'm sorry I'm late. You see, there was this rock and this cave and this creepy ol- Ow!" Obito looks at Kakashi with disbelief. "Did… did you just punch me? Why wou- Oof!"

He's pulled into a tight hug and, before he can register it, quickly let go. "You idiot! I- We thought you were dead!"

Obito's eye softens, "Kakashi, I-"

"I'm sorry." The silver-haired jounin interrupts. What?

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, _I'm sorry._ If… If I wasn't such a stupid and callous and- and arrogant _moron_ and had gone with you from the start. Went to save Rin from the beginning. This- It wouldn't have happened and it's all my fault. If I was- was faster or stronger or- or _more._ If I hadn't- If I just- …It's my fault. I'm trash. No, I'm lower than trash. And it doesn't matter if you never forgive me because-"

At this point, Obito is so in the twilight zone that it's not funny. Because seriously, _What?_

"-and I'm so _so_ sorry. I'm trash and you- you should have let me die that day instead."

Something snaps within him and suddenly, Obito's fists are flying.

"YOU IDIOT!" He roars. "You just- I can't believe this. I can't believe you." Glaring darkly down at Kakashi's gobsmacked face, he sneers. "How dare you? _How dare you?_ You think you can just waltz me here and tell me you should have died? That your life wasn't worth dying for?"

"It wasn-"

"I decide whose life is worth me dying for! I chose to save you that day. Are you saying that my sacrifice was worth _nothing?"_

"No bu-"

"No buts!"

"But-"

"No BUTS!" Breathing in, Obito continues on more calmly, "I chose to save you that day because I believed you were worth it. And I would not hesitate to choose to save you again, a thousand times over, if I was faced with the same choice again because, Kakashi, I _know_ that _you are worth it."_

Pulling Kakashi up from the ground, Obito looks into his eye trying to let him know that _every word he says is sincere._

"That day, I told you something. I told you that I believed that you would make a great jounin. ... What I said that day. It was a lie." Kakashi's breath hitches. "You already were a great jounin; smart, talented, strategic. Kakashi, you were an amazing jounin. But what I meant to- What I should have said was: _"I believe that you will make a **good** jounin.""_

Wrapping his arms around Kakashi, Obito holds him close. "Yeah, you screwed up. You screwed up big time. And you'll probably screw up again. But _you came back_ and that's all really that matters in the end."

He gets a choked laugh as his only response.

"Yeah. I missed you too, Bakashi."

* * *

*Soft drinks and champagne... Not sure if the Elemental Continent actually has any of those... but yeah.

Umm... The chapter's a little shorter than usual but I figured that this was the best place to end it. Lucky that I decided to dive straight into the preparing for reunion from the start of the chapter because wow.

You can probably tell how the mini-ramblings were ways to stall the reunion. So right up until Minato hugged him, Obito was still under henge so Kakashi didn't recognise him. Also, he didn't know that Obito was alive because Minato sucks at telling people stuff.

Let's get some facts down for you guys to know: 1) The war is over - Obito just doesn't know yet, 2) Obito still doesn't know how long he was trapped (Minato sucks) and 3) Minato will very soon be Hokage.

Dunno what else... Ask me if you have questions.

Please review... Please, this chapter was hard.

~Anon


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Naruto

Kay, so umm... This was (is) very, very, very late and I apologise. I contemplated completely scrapping the chapter and starting from scratch several times because it got too gushy. I still feel like it's gushy, but that's up for you guys to decide. So umm... thanks for reading?

* * *

It takes Obito a full minute before he remembers that they have an audience.

It takes him less than half a second to realise that he doesn't give a damn.

He has been crushed by a rock and kidnapped by a creeper. He has been detained and interrogated by his _fellow Konoha-nin_ and in the process, found out he had been mind-wiped and that he had _a goddamned seal on his heart_. He has been forced to eat The Hospital Food and infiltrated ANBU Headquarters. He has had a major operation and realised he let _everyone he cared about think that he was dead_ and finally, _finally_ found Kakashi.

He deserves this hug, dammit. And there will be hell to pay if it stops preemptively.

Unfortunately, his body doesn't get the memo.

A wave of exhaustion hits him out of nowhere and his limbs seize. He can barely hear some person's panicked cries above that incessant ringing in his head, let alone identify them and the black spots in his vision just. Won't. Go. Away.

" _Obito? Obito! Dammit, stay with me! Why is he- What's happening?"_

He's tired.

" _-his Clan Head! You assured me that-"_

" _-delicate condition. He should have been restin-"_

" _-should have? If you had done your job, he would have-"_

" _-not the time, Fugaku! Let sensei do her job. Obito needs a-"_

His head hurts.

 _"-and relocate him to the hospital. You have to keep him awake, Hatake. He needs-"_

 _"-could Hiraishin-"_

 _"-can't. His seal's unsta-"_

Something wet drips onto his face.

 _"Don't close your eyes, Obito! Look at me, Obito. Just keep looking at me! You have to stay awake, Obito. Are you listening? Stay awake!"_

'Kashi? Obito reaches for Kakashi's face, clumsily wiping the falling tears. 'Kashi, I'm sleepy.

 _"You can't, Obito. You have to stay awake."_

Don' worry, 'Kashi. I'm just- just restin' my eye for a lil' bit.

 _"You can't, Obito. ...Obito? Obito?! Obito, open your eyes. Open them, Obito. Dammit Obito, open them!"_

He feels so tired.

 _"Minato-sensei?! Iryo-nin-san?! It's- his heart- i-it won't- it's not- why isn't it- it's not beating!"_

 _"Obito?! OBITO!"_

* * *

It's dark.

The ground is hard and cold. Loose stones and pebbles scrape his skin raw. Trying to stand up, he wills the world to stop spinning.

Because he doesn't have time for lying around.

If his dreams are to be realised, if he wants to make the world a better place for the innocents who _did not deserve to die._

He has to train.

Fighting the nausea, he pushes himself up. He can't see anything but he's been here for so long that he knows this cave better than the back of his hand. Stepping forward, he traces the pathway engraved into his memory.

It wouldn't do to keep shishou waiting.

* * *

Obito jolts awake.

What was- What the hell was that?

Confusion and fear well up within him in equal parts. He was in a- It was... and then-

He can't remember. Obito frowns.

The sound of shuffling papers to his right snaps him to attention.

"You're awake."

"A-ah," he answers, pushing down his unease, because that was a question, right?

"You probably feel slightly disorientated, right now." Mori-sensei pours a glass of water which Obito gulps down thirstily. "You did a number on yourself, Uchiha-san. Hopefully, this time you will heed my instructions and _stay in bed."_ Here, Mori-sensei smiles and in the process, figuratively empties a bucket of ice down Obito's back.

Because if the line that distinguishes good shinobi from great shinobi is an edge, than the line that divides good iryo-nin from great iryo-nin is that _smile._

A contradictory mixture of warmth, comfort and kindness that manages to inspire blinding and all-consuming terror in all its recipients or in this instance, recipient (i.e. Obito).

Mori-sensei is undoubtedly a great iryo-nin.

And Obito realises, with mounting horror, spying the clipboard in her hands, that Mori-sensei isn't just a great iryo-nin, she is also Obito's potential _personal iryo-nin._

"Now." What once was a simple contralto is now the soundtrack to Obito's nightmares. "Would you like to enlighten me as to why you decided that window hopping and gallivanting around Konoha was appropriate after I _explicitly said you needed bedrest?"_

Ha… haha… hah… He's screwed.

* * *

A harsh dressing down later, Obito finds himself sat solidly in his bed idly spooning a bowl of questionably edible something.

Apparently, the seal was (is) still unstable and his 'dubiously thought-out, highly ill-advised and completely, utterly and undeniably moronic - Uchiha-san, tell me seriously now. How many times were you dropped on your head as an infant? - venture' caused it to destabilise temporarily.

Hence, the mini-heart attack/seizure/spontaneous blackout.

Which… makes sense, he guesses whilst poking a squishy lump, except there's something not _right._ It's just a feeling and he has no proof but labelling this as heart failure or shock or something just… doesn't seem right.

But Mori-sensei is the iryo-nin here and it's not like Obito can go up to her and say, "I'm pretty sure I've been misdiagnosed. Sure, my heart stopped working for a while but I really don't think I had heart failure. I think that I just decided to randomly go to sleep on the spot even though I showed absolutely no signs of fatigue before."

The lump slips out from under his spoon and he sighs. His not-very-smart antics have landed him a two week bed suspension.

Which, on one hand, sucks. He can already feel the beginnings of the gnawing sensation that he knows will soon escalate into the all-encompassing state of ennui.

A string of mucus-textured… soup drips from his spoon.

However, on the other hand, if he's a good boy ( _notagoodboyneveragoodboy_ ) they might allow visitors.

Which kind of, almost, makes up for everything. The spoon falls into the bowl with a sickening squelch. Keyword, almost.

Glaring at the… food, Obito picks up his spoon reluctantly.

Bakashi better be grateful.

* * *

Two weeks of absolutely foul, vomit-inducing, disgusting bowls of dubiously nonliving Hospital Food, Obito is discharged and finally, _finally_ cleared to eat actual food.

Disregarding the glares, Obito whoops.

Loudly.

The staff should be glad he's letting them go with just a little noise pollution. Lying to patients is an offence. Lying to Obito about Kakashi should call for a lynching.

Honestly, why promise visitors when they're prohibited?

It's not like he'll ninja-escape through the window in protest. He can be patient. What? Of course, he can be patient. No way, those first two times don't count. W-what? Two? Did he say two? No, no, no. You heard wrong. He said one. He did! Wait! Where are you going? Mori-sensei? Wait, no! DON'T TELL MORI-SENSEI!

The important thing is that he's free now.

Well, not free.

Fugaku-sama still hasn't told the clan the big news... which is understandable.

Giving away one of the Uchiha Clan's coveted dojutsu is probably considered the highest act of clan betrayal and if Obito lived in the time of the Warring Clans, he'd probably have been executed the moment they caught word. Luckily, he does not live in the Warring Clans Era so giving away a Sharingan needs to be explicitly classified as an act of betrayal before anyone can be killed.

So Obito can't begrudge Fugaku-sama the delaying of what will be a clusterfuck of politics for the both of them once the news of Obito's undeath gets out.

Consequently, Obito has been assigned a handler.

A trusted jounin who has proved over countless occasions to be a loyal Konoha shinobi. One that will be able to easily subdue and restrain Obito. A shinobi that has no compunctions in manhandling him into turning up for appointments, not just the ones with the hospital but also the T&I.

So Obito will have to be stuck dealing with a particularly lethal shadow whilst Fugaku-sama gets their clan together.

In other news, Minato-sensei has recently been assigned a D-rank babysitting mission.

An official D-rank mission. There's a scroll and everything.

Obito is not sure whether to be offended or not.

* * *

Obito is **not happy.**

Mori-sensei just dropped by to deliver the results of their tests. Which… they just left the hospital? Aren't diagnosises, diagnoses(?) - he doesn't language - supposed to be given before iryo-nin release their patients?

It's not like Obito knows anything about hospital procedures, or iryo-ninjutsu in general, but Obito is pretty sure that pretty much violates standard procedure.

But back to the point. Obito is upset.

Whatever creepy-kidnapper-ghost-person did to Obito has altered his physiology quite a bit. And by quite a bit, Obito means completely messed up. He's actually got a personal, as in only-Mori-sensei-can-treat-him-now-and-if-someone-else-wants-to-treat-him-they-have-to-consult-her-and/or-undergo-specialised-training. Which is…

Anyway, his physiology is completely whacked up.

From what the iryo-nin can tell, whoever took Obito wanted a super shinobi - the ones you hear in horror stories or see in the S-rank section of the Bingo Books. The shinobi that can take an A-rank raiton jutsu to the heart and _still keep going._

Theoretically, he can go for weeks without food or water and still fight in tip-top condition. His body - both the Senju _and_ normal side - can regenerate at unbelievable speeds. He isn't exactly immune to toxins and poisons, but if does decide to go through poison resistance training the effective training period could actually be just. One. Week.

And that's just absolutely _insane._

But the worst thing is that it _might not be an exaggeration._

It didn't seem like much at the time - what with Rin and Bakashi in danger - but he literally punched through a solid rock wall. Not only that, he ran home. What type of person - shinobi or not - can run at full speed, non-stop, after being tortured, through two countries?

(Ta no Kuni may be a small country, but it's a small _country._ He ran for a length spanning _more than a country._ )

What the actual hell?

And it makes him feel a little sick.

Because people don't go out of their way to save a basically-a-corpse shinobi in the middle of a warzone. They don't go around handing out biological miracles to strangers. At least, not out of the goodness of their hearts.

Obito might not be the brightest mind out there but even he can tell that with a little training, he could be a _beast._

Mokuton, Sharingan, almost instant regeneration, endurance and pain tolerance levels like whoa… A personal, undetectable, unbeatable infiltration jutsu that has never ever been heard of before.

Obito could be an absolute monster.

Suddenly, the faded remains of the lessons that he can still remember get so much more ominous.

Because he wasn't just taught how to _'look underneath the underneath'_ , how to dissect people's actions and behaviours and strip them down to the bare basics to find out what they might do next.

No. He was taught to _'look underneath the underneath'_ , find people's motivations and _twist them_. To look at objects, scenarios and people and ask himself, how can I use this? How can I _make_ this useful?

And that- that isn't the lesson of a minion. That isn't what someone would teach a pawn or a soldier. That isn't a lesson someone would teach to a person that was disposable.

It's a lesson designed for someone important.

Someone like a _successor._

Obito feels sick.

Pushing that away, Obito looks deep into himself and finds that he also feels annoyed.

No, not annoyed.

Outraged.

Right now, Obito is burning with the flames of righteous anger.

None of the tests have implied that normal food would have any negative effects on him. In fact, the results actually imply that they would have done him better.

Couldn't they have figured that out before, you know, _making him eat?_

The worst part is that they actually made him eat lunch before they let him go. They made him. Eat. It.

Life Lesson #256: Nurses can not be trusted. They are E. V. I. L. EVIL. From now on, Obito knows that they are, collectively, the mortal incarnation of EVIL.

His tastebuds are revolting and Obito just _knows_ , that this absolutely rancid taste will never, _never,_ be washed out.

Doesn't mean he can't try though.

Gargling, Obito spits out the blue mouthwash before calling it quits. Rinsing his mouth, Obito looks up at the mirror.

The man in the mirror looks back.

Deep scars twist around his only eye in a way that is almost artistic. (Absently, Obito also notes that they resemble his Kamui and frowns, This had better not have been some kind of foreshadowed, poetic irony crap. His life isn't a story, dammit.)

In contrast, the left side of the man's face is smooth and perfect and pretty in the way that's classic to all Uchiha (and Obito isn't sure whether he has become narcissistic over the last few months or it's just a reaction to having half of his face scarred, but the intact half of his face is really, really pretty.)

It's different.

But strangely enough, his reflection doesn't bother him as much as he had thought it would.

Though what does bother him. Obito thinks, running a hand through his short (and by short, he means _short_ ) hair. Is couldn't the iryo-nin give him just a little more to work with?

Obito isn't even sure if you can call his hair, hair. In fact, it wouldn't be untrue to call it stubble. Honestly, if you're going to shave him bald, actually shave him _bald._

Turning off the tap, Obito moves to leave the bathroom.

Time to go scope his newest cave/cell in the T&I/hospital room/place he's going to stay for a while that's less a prison and entirely Minato-sensei's guest bedroom (Question? Sensei's a shinobi, why does he even have a guest bedroom?).

Ooh, lookie. Kakashi's here too.

* * *

Obito doesn't know what he expected. Obito doesn't even know if he had any expectations.

And yet.

He's gobsmacked.

There... are just no words.

"How?"

Kakashi looks distinctly uncomfortable. "I… Do you like it?"

Obito stares.

At the table, the board, the extremely familiar futon set up on the floor. Heck, even the bookshelf looks the same. Right down to the books and the way they're stacked. Pulling out a novel, Obito runs a thumb over the inkblot where he vaguely remembers leaving his pen standing for too long.

This is… It's his room.

They've managed to literally cut and paste his room into sensei's house.

And Obito doesn't know what to say.

It's not that he didn't expect to ever see his things again. He just had other things to worry about. It's that, he did _not_ expect to ever see his things again. He was dead. And while Obito may be the type of sentimental fool that clings onto old memories and trinkets, he has no delusions that his baa-chan is.

There's a reason why the only existing picture of his parents was left in Obito's possession. Is in his possession, Obito corrects, spying the faded photo on the pinboard.

Minato-sensei… Kakashi… They- They saved his things.

Something wet drips down onto his arm and Obito realises he's crying.

"I-"

"Obito? Are you oka-"

"I love it."

Kakashi stills.

"I never thought- I didn't think-" Obito stops, and thinks before uttering two words.

"Thank you."

* * *

When it's all said and done, Obito blames the drugs.

Yes, he hasn't been administered any since his release but that doesn't change anything. These tears, they're drug-induced. The reason he's been a weepy, over-emotional loser is the drugs.

Obito is not - and never will be - a crybaby.

Not matter what Bakashi says.

( _Keep telling yourself that._

I _will_ keep telling myself that, thank you very much.)

Ignoring Mental-Bakashi's very-much-unappreciated commentary, Obito returns to reality and finds himself in a very awkward silence.

Unlike his mental counterpart, Kakashi decides not to mention Obito's recent bout of ( _drug-induced_ ) tears which Obito would appreciate.

Except, Obito and Kakashi have never really… talked before. You know, outside of snide words (Kakashi) and indignant yelling (Obito).

They've always had sensei (or Rin) there as a buffer to lessen the animosity and Obito can count on one hand the amount of times they've had a relatively civil conversation without intervention of a third part.

Looking at the wary glint in Kakashi's eye and the way he always pauses before he speaks - being careful not to offend. Obito knows that Kakashi knows that too.

Which is… not right.

Kakashi isn't supposed to pick and choose words before speaking. He isn't supposed to look at Obito as if one wrong move will make everything fall apart.

They're supposed to be teammates.

Obito and Kakashi have never talked before.

But…

That doesn't mean they can't start.

Someone once told him that friendship was a house. It's all in the foundations.

"Come on, Bakashi. We're late."

"For what?"

"For dango. There's a new- old-" Obito pauses, suddenly nervous. "There was a new back-before-I-was-kidnapped dango place that opened up and I- uh- I wanted to go there with a friend…"

Here, Obito looks up at Kakashi expectantly before faltering slightly when met with silence. You know, this sounded a great deal easier in his head.

"It's just- I thought since we're- I mean, it's okay if you don't want to… (I know you don't like sweets)... but I thought- I was thinking- I mean, it'd be nice to- There's also this really nice yakiniku place… Well, there was, there might not be anymore… I-"

Obito fumbles, cursing the world from inside his mind. Social skills, Oh Social skills wherefore hath thou fled.

 _A cave somewhere in the northmost part of Ta no Kuni._

Shut up, Mental-Bakashi.

Breathing in deeply, Obito takes a moment to rearrange his thoughts (and boot the chibi version of his teammate out).

C'mon 'Bito. You can do this. Keep it simple. Keep it straight. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

"I'm hungry and I like you. Let's have lunch together."

Out of nowhere, a distinctively _feminine_ voice speaks up. "Oh. My. God." Oh no. "Did you hear that? DID YOU HEAR THAT? That's so cute, 'ttebane!"

"Kushina-nee! Stop! I didn't mea-"

"Also, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? DATTEBANE!"

Obito's crushed into two squishy lumps and He. Can't. BREATH.

"Mmffph! Mmmfffpphh!"

The vice-like grip suddenly disappears and he sinks to the ground, sucking in huge lungfuls of sweet sweet air. Whatever appeal breasts hold, Obito does not see it.

"-away from him, you crazy woman!"

"Kakashi."

"But sensei, she-"

"It-It's fine." Obito gasps out.

"Are you okay?" The drastic shift in Kushina-nee's behaviour is very very strange and Obito finds that the serious glint in her eyes does not suit her.

"Uh- yeah."

Suddenly, the look is gone and Kushina-nee is back to her normal self, leaving Obito wondering whether it was a figment of his imagination.

"Sooo…" There's an impish smile of her face and a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Lunch, huh?"

It's a leading sentence that Obito will not acknowle-

"I never thought of it before, but you two would be cute together."

What?

"It's- It's not like that!"

"A boy sacrifices himself to save the person he loves and in his dying moments leaves him with his most prized possession-"

"That's not- It wasn't-"

"-realises his love too late and spends his days mourning at the Memorial Stone-"

"It was a jounin present! Stop twist-"

"-of fate that he's actually alive and bides his time so he can escape-"

"This is not some sort of shoujo manga!"

"-finally reunite and profess their lo-"

"SHUT UP!"

Obito flushes tomato red as everyone's eyes fall on him.

"I didn't- It wasn't-" Floundering, Obito looks to the ceiling for divine intervention and once again it is confirmed that the world hates him. "It- It's not like that."

No one says anything and Obito feels the need to continue.

"It's just, it's been so long and I haven't seen Kakashi since forever and I was so, so scared and I didn't know what happened and- and no one would tell me _anything_ and then Minato-sensei said that Kakashi was in ANBU and that no one knew I was back and I just- I missed him. I don't- I don't like him like _that._ It's just that the moment we finally came to an understanding, things happened and now I'm back, I want to-

I want to be his friend."

He's said it. The words are out there and he can't take them back.

And something about saying those six words out loud makes all his worries, all his nervous tension and internal panicking melt away.

I want to be Kakashi's friend.

Of course - since Obito is an overly emotional mess of a shinobi, and a teenager to boot - that singular moment of peace and serenity, that feeling of knowing, with absolute certainty, where you are in the world and where you're going disappears just as quickly as it had appeared.

Leaving Obito a nervous wreck.

Again.

Obito is starting to get very tired over all this puberty crap.

(He also feels a little queasy over the newest memory he has just-in-that-moment uncovered. He _got_ _The Talk from the creepy-kidnapper-ghost?_ Eww...)

Silence reigns supreme and Obito is feeling pressured to talk again.

Which he doesn't want to do.

Come on, there are three other people in the room. Surely, one of them wants to make a fool of themselves. He has already embarrassed himself enough as it is.

(He gets why Kakashi isn't talking. But why doesn't Minato-sensei or Kushina-nee talk? What, did someone cut out their tongues in the last few minutes while he wasn't looking?)

The tension builds and Obito gives in.

"I don't- I don't like Kakashi like that," the words fall out and Obito regrets.

Didn't they just finish this conversation? Obito is pretty sure that the last monologue pretty much hammered the last nail into the coffin. He's said everything he has needed to, why is he even bringing this up again?

"I don't like him like that. I-"

The words flow out from his mouth like sake at a bad and with a sudden clarity that only comes with knowing something terrible is on the horizon, he knows where this is going and _he. Cannot._

"-like-"

 _Let. It._

"-Rin."

 _Happen._

Damn it all.

* * *

There's something that looks like pity on Kushina-nee's face and Obito feels ice cold horror run through his veins. Because…

It's in that moment that Obito laments over how much he fails at denial because he can't deny that it isn't just Kushina-nee and Minato-sensei in the room.

He can't pretend that there are only three people in this room. He can't delude himself into thinking that he just did not confess his love for a dead girl in front of her (however reluctant) murderer.

Slowly turning around, Obito looks at his silver-haired teammate and Kakashi- Kakashi looks devastated.

Obito's nails dig into his palm leaving four crescent shaped cuts.

Damn it.

Damn it. Damn it. _Damn it._

"Obito."

Guilt, dread, fear… He doesn't know what he feels. All he knows is that that voice, that tone… It settles heavy in his gut and makes his throat close up.

"Obito." Kakashi says louder.

Obito doesn't dare look up. Doesn't dare look up into that guilt-filled, self-incriminating eye.

Because in that moment, he remembers that they don't know. They don't know that he knows Rin is dead.

That he can still feel her stone cold body turning hard and rigid in his arms. Can paint canvases upon canvases of dead, empty, brown eyes and can describe how the colour and life just drained out of her.

Rin is dead.

She's dead, dead, dead.

And… And it's all Kakashi's fault.

(No, wait. No, it isn't. Yes, it was someone's fault but that someone was not Kakashi. It was someone else, Obito _knows_ this, he just. _Can't. Remember. Who._ )

So Obito can't do it. He can't bare look up into Kakashi's eye, when it's filled with so much… self-loathing, as he spits those- those _lies_. Because it was _not his fault._

And Obito wants to say that. He wants to go up to Kakashi and say that. Say that it wasn't his fault, that it was someone else and that there is nothing, _nothing_ , for Obito to forgive.

And maybe, if Obito had not gone through what he has, he would have. But Obito has gone through those experiences. He knows what it's like to wake up and realise, You've killed someone precious. He knows it like the back of his hand.

Kakashi doesn't need forgiveness. He needs redemption.

"Obito, I-"

Out of nowhere, a loud rumbling sound echoes through the room.

"Ah… Sorry about that. I haven't eaten since this morning."

"But wait, didn't you just have lunch at the hospital?"

"Yes, I did and if the pot plant in the corner mysteriously dies, it was not my fault."

"Obito!"

"Hey! I just said it wasn't my fault!"

What Kakashi needs is redemption. But the thing with atonement, is that before Obito can give Kakashi the chance, Obito needs to first acknowledge that yes, even if it was just a little bit, Kakashi _was_ at fault.

So yes, Obito will allow Kakashi to try to redeem himself.

But not yet.

Obito isn't ready.

* * *

Now that the tense atmosphere is broken, Kushina-nee is ready to make up for however many months she hasn't been able to bug Obito.

"Sooo… Nee-chan?" There's a smirk pasted on her face. "I didn't know you thought so highly of me - dattebane."

Blood rushes to Obito's face. "I- I don't know what you're talking about."

"You called me, Nee-chan."

"Like hell, would I call an old hag," a vein in Kushina-nee's forehead pops, "like you nee-chan! You're obviously hallucinating in your old ag-"

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"ARGH! Let me go! Let me go!"

Kushina-nee, the witch, finally let's Obito out of the headlock and then proceeds to loudly proclaim, "Now, about your cute little lunch proposal."

Obito freezes.

"That dango place is actually a piece of crap, it's actually a blessing you never got to go, and I have no idea why'd you want to go to a random yakiniku place. Yakiniku Q is obviously the superior choice. Come on, I'm paying." Nee-chan pauses and takes the opportunity to wink at Obito's frozen form, "Unless you would rather eat with a _special someone_."

The blatant gesturing and hand-waving in Kakashi's direction gives little doubt as to who that _special someone_ is.

"I TOLD YOU, IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Obito cries, flushed red. Then in a milder tone, he asks, "Besides, you're actually paying? As in, not scooching of sensei?"

"Pssh… Minato pays, I pay. Same thing."

"Wait, what?"

"Please?" She turns her puppy eyes on Minato-sensei and like always, he crumbles faster than a wet paper tissue.

Whipped.

They leave for lunch and if Kakashi seems to be keeping his distance from Obito, Obito takes no note. Instead, he makes sure to take the seat right next to Kakashi when they sit.

So maybe he isn't ready to acknowledge that Kakashi had some contribution to her death.

But Rin or no Rin. Obito refuses to let Kakashi avoid him.

Those who abandon the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.

* * *

 **Omake 1**

Urgh. Does he really have to eat this?

Obito jabs a particularly wobbly lump.

Eyeing the small pot plant innocently standing in the corner, Obito weighs the odds. Is it worth the risk?

"H-he," Obito freezes. How did- Didn't Mori-sensei just leave? Oh Kami, does Minato-sensei's on-off telepathy extend to other sensei as well? This isn't even fair. Mori-sensei's an iryo-nin sensei not a teaching sensei.

"Hee," Wait… That noise… it's not coming from outside, "Heeeeeel-" In fact… it almost… sounds as if… as if…

Dread sits cold and heavy in his gut.

"Looooooo-"

As if it's coming from below.

"Hello."

"ARRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! MUTANT TALKING HOSPITAL FOOD!"

* * *

 **Omake 2**

It's in the process of grasping a piece of beef that Obito notices something.

A very shiny something.*

"YOU GOT MARRIED?"

"Shhh…"

Obito quickly clamps a hand over his mouth as if it'd somehow unsay the words he said.

This time quieter, he whispers, "You got married?"

Minato-sensei's smile is as radiant as it is abashed.

"We did," he interlaces his fingers with Kushina-nee's and Obito is taken aback by just how… cute they are.

Obito isn't really sure how to feel about missing the wedding. Everyone who knew sensei and Kushina-nee knew that their wedding was something a long time coming and as a romantic and sensei's student, he had always assumed he would be there to witness the ceremony.

But really, the only issue that he has is, "Who proposed?"

* * *

The chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I included Omakes... not entirely sure how I should have structured that. Should I have put the notes above the Omakes or below.

To be honest, the snippets are actually what I wrote into the story and then felt was too crack-ish.

Normally, I talk about things I think I should clarify here but to be honest, I'm lazy. So just feel free to PM me for clarifications.

*shiny something: I'm not sure, if shinobi in the Elemental Nations wear wedding rings. It wouldn't be very functional, would it?

Thank you so much reader, favourites, followers and reviewers (mainly reviewers), I think I would have updated a month from now without you guys.

That's about it,

~Anon


End file.
